Ben Stokes hailed the impact of the two new boys as England began the international summer with a 115-run Test victory over New Zealand at Lord’s.
Both Ollie Robinson, who celebrated his return from a two-year exile with a man-of-the-match seven wickets plus valuable tail-end runs, and Emilio Gay with a top score of 57 on debut were at the heart of what England captain Stokes conceded was a must-win encounter following last winter’s Ashes debacle.
‘Ollie Robinson’s skill has never been in question,’ he said. ‘There’s just a few other things that we’d obviously spoken about behind the scenes that we wanted to see him go away and improve on and he’s obviously gone away and done that.
‘But the pleasing thing for me, as captain, and a leader in the group, is the way that he’s spoken about this week. It would have been very easy to rest on his laurels when everything’s gone so well for him. The language he’s used is it being just a start, and there being a lot more hard work to do.
‘The more Ollie Robinson has an England shirt on his back, the better it is for us because he’s an outstanding bowler.’
Gay’s selection in place of the axed Zak Crawley provided England with greater solidity at the top of the order on a lottery of a Lord’s pitch.
Ben Stokes hailed Ollie Robinson’s stunning return to Test cricket following a two-year exile
He also reserved praise for debutant Emilio Gay, who hit an important 57 in the second innings
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‘I said to Emilio, that’s at the high end of challenge that an opening batter is going to be exposed.
‘So, you’re better off getting it early on, so you can understand how tough it is,’ Stokes continued.
‘For him to make a significant contribution at the top of the order will do wonders for his confidence.’
Of going 1-0 up in the three-match series, he added: ‘I’m not going to lie. I knew how big this game was in terms of the result and how it was going to be perceived externally if it didn’t go well.’
