The Ashes: Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden take dig at 'forgettable' Ollie Robinson

Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden have slammed England pacer Ollie Robinson for needling with the visiting Australian side during the first Ashes Test.

Robinson, playing in his first home Ashes, started an early war of words in the opening Test at Edgbaston, which the Aussies clinched by a nail-biting two-wicket victory. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon put up a match-winning 55-run stand for the ninth wicket as Australia chased down 281 runs in Birmingham to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.

Ollie Robinson's war of words

The English fast bowler was busy giving Australia some verbals both on and off the pitch. Robinson's heated moments in the first Test included the bowler offering an expletive send-off to the centurion Usman Khawaja. Later on at the press conference, Robinson defended his actions, where he asked, "If you can't handle that, what can you handle?"

"We've all seen Ricky Ponting, and other Aussies do the same to us. Just because the shoe is on the other foot it is not received well. I don't care how it is perceived to be honest, it is the Ashes, it is professional sport. To get the wicket at the time was massive and I'm here to provide that theatre in the game," added Robinson in the presser.

Khawaja did not file a complaint as he termed those interactions as usual match banter. It probably helped him feel less offended after he earned the Player of the Match for his scores of 141 and 65.

Robinson, who finished the Birmingham Test with figures of 5 for 98, was not even sanctioned by the match referee. But the player's conduct irked two Australian greats, Hayden and Ponting, who did not hesitate to take aim at the Englishman on air.

Matthew Hayden slams Robinson for "forgettable cricket"

Without using Robinson's name, Hayden took a dig at the bowler's lack of express pace and suggested Cummins should be looking to knock him out of the attack.

"The other bloke, he's a forgettable cricketer. A fast bowler that is bowling 124km/h nude nuts, and he's got a mouth from the south. Someone like him, you can just go: 'Brother, I'm coming at ya.' Davey Warner can do that, right. He can just say: 'You're bowling 120,'" added Hayden.

Ricky Ponting's advice for Robinson

Ponting, on the other hand, was specifically named by Robinson as someone who had sledged England in the past. Therefore, the former Australian captain came out strong at the 29-year-old Sussex pacer.

"If he is sitting back thinking about me, then no wonder he bowled like the way that he did in that game, if he's worried about what I did 15 years ago. This England cricket team hasn't played against Australia and they'll find out pretty quickly what playing Ashes cricket, and playing against a good Australian cricket team, is all about. If Ollie Robinson hasn't learned that already after last week, then he's a slow learner," Ponting told the ICC Review Podcast.

Ponting went on to add that Robinson will soon learn that if he wanted to sledge the Aussies during an Ashes Test, he would have to back it up with his skills as well.

After Robinson ended Khawaja's eight-hour century in Australia's first innings, he appeared to be giving the departing batter some advice. Social media lip-readers claim Robinson chuntered "F*** off" in his follow-through. But the Australian side chose not to make a big deal out of it and decided against filing an official complaint against Robinson.

While the first Test was still underway, Robinson blasted Australia for being "too defensive." He said England had got in their heads, and had also declared the touring side had "three No.11s".

Robinson's description of Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, and Jos Hazlewood as three No. 11s embarrassingly back-fired as Boland's 20 as nightwatchman and Lyon's 14 not out led to Australia's memorable win at Edgbaston.