Ollie Robinson became the centre of at least two controversies during the recently concluded Edgbaston Test match of Ashes 2023. On the second day, he gave Usman Khawaja a send-off after dismissing him.

That had put Robinson in danger of violation of ICC Playing Conditions 2.3 and 2.5. It also drew subsequent criticism from media, former cricketers, and fans – though not from the Australia team.

Once Khawaja fell, Robinson and Stuart Broad bounced out Australia’s tail. “We’ve said once we get past [Pat] Cummins, we feel like they’ve got three number 11s [Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood],” said Robinson after the third day’s play.

To be fair, there was some truth in Robinson’s assessment. In 151 innings, Lyon has batted at No.11 51 times, and another 70 times at No.10, often to accommodate Hazlewood (48 times at No.11 in 71 innings) below him. In a nine-innings career, Boland has batted five times at the bottom of the batting line-up.

Unfortunately, it took less than two days for the comment to backfire. Promoted to No.5 during the chase of 281, nightwatchman Boland made a career-best 20. Emerging when Australia needed 55 with two wickets in hand, Lyon remained unbeaten on 16, helping Cummins seal the match.

Despite claiming 3-55 and 2-43 in the Test, Robinson predictably came in for criticism during and after the Test. It did not help that he had a subsequent exchange of words with Khawaja. Fox Sports branded him “public enemy No.1 in Australia,” in a piece as well as in a tweet.

Broad responded to the tweet with ‘“No1 [sic] Villain?!” I can’t have lost that tag already can I?! Disappointing’.

“No1 Villain?!” I can’t have lost that tag already can I?! Disappointing

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) June 22, 2023

Broad had not endeared himself to Australian fans when he did not walk during an Ashes Test match at his home venue, Trent Bridge, after being given not out to despite edging a ball to Michael Clarke at first slip.

When England toured Australia later that year for the return Ashes, the local fans were ready with “Stuart Broad is a sh*t bloke” t-shirts.

“He doesn’t walk, but he talks a good game. Yet lift the covers and you’ll find Stuart Fraud,” ran a headline in the Brisbane Courier-Mail. Throughout the Test match, they referred to Broad as the “27-year-old English medium-pace bowler”.

Despite England’s defeat, Broad claimed 6-81 and 2-55 in the Test match, and made 32 in the first innings, and walked into the press conference with a copy of the Courier-Mail.

Pre-series comments from cricketers, present and past, have been part of the Ashes tradition, and Broad has been no exception. Ahead of the 2023 Ashes, Broad called Australia’s 4-0 win in 2021/22 win as “a void series”. The goading prompted responses, most significantly from Starc (“is that an excuse for 4-0”)?