Ashes injury scare for England – Ollie Robinson needs scan on sore ankle

Worried speculation surrounded Robinson at Hove yesterday after the England fast bowler failed to take the field after lunch on the third day of the LV= Insurance County Championship game between Sussex and Glamorgan.

Sussex coach Paul Farbrace said: “Ollie has a sore left ankle and he will be scanned on Monday to see how bad he is. We knew it was sore yesterday. We got one spell out of him this morning and he tried his hardest. It was a long spell and he got stuck in. He knew it would be one spell and one spell only. And then he was off for the day. We’ll find out what the issue is on Monday.

“It was precautionary. There was no point in making it worse. It’s the walking more than the running in. He was all right running in down the slope. He did ok. It’s a joint decision between the Sussex medical team and the England medical team. Much as we want him out there bowling and taking wickets it’s not fair on him to make the injury worse. So there was good conversation last night and again this morning.”

Robinson didn’t open the attack in the morning but when he came on to bowl after half an hour’s play he put in an eight-over spell without looking quite as dangerous as he had the day before, when he bowled seven overs. He failed to take a wicket yesterday, though he did have Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson dropped at third slip on just three by James Coles

With the Ashes series just a month away the fitness of England’s cadre of fast bowlers – of which Robinson is arguably the steadiest – is is being carefully monitored. Robinson is in fine form, taking career best match figures of 14 for117 against Worcestershire earlier this month, after which he was rested for the game against Leicestershire. He maintained that form here on Thursday, when he was Sussex’s best bowler with figures of 4-29 as Glamorgan were dismissed for 123 in their first innings. But when Sussex took the new ball yesterday afternoon, desperate for a breakthrough with Glamorgan 309 for three, Robinson was still off the field.

Meanwhile, there was good Ashes news for Australia at the 1st Central County Ground. In Robinson’s absence key batsman Marnus Labuschagne, in his final innings for Glamorgan this summer, hit 138 from 244 balls, with 16 fours and four sixes – following Steve’s Smith’s 89 for Sussex - as he and Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson put on 288 for the fourth wicket as the county fought their back from conceding a first advantage of 358. It was a Glamorgan fourth wicket record against Sussex. At the close of the third day they led by 141, with Carlson 187 not out.

Glamorgan had resumed on 118 for one, having knocked off a third of their massive first innings deficit the previous evening, but still a formidable 240 runs in arrears.

They lost their first wicket of the day in the eighth over of the morning, at 123, when Zain-ul-Hassan was smartly stumped by Oli Carter off off-spinner Jack Carson, having added just three runs to his overnight score. And Carson put himself on a hat-trick when he took another wicket with his next ball, Sam Northeast lbw on the back foot. But that was as good as it got for Sussex for a long time.

Carlson survived another chance at 163, when he had made 21, when he advanced down the wicket to drive Carson for four. Carson got a hand to the ball but it was a difficult chance. Labuschagne, making amends for his solitary run in the first innings, lifted the slow-left armer Coles over midwicket to reach his half-century from 121 deliveries, with six fours and three sixes. His innings was a combination of obduracy and big shots. Glamorgan went to lunch on 223 for three.

In the afternoon session Labuschagne and Carlson looked unperturbed as Sussex captain Chet Pujara rotated his bowlers while he awaited the arrival of the new ball. Carlson reached his century when he worked Tom Haines behind square on the leg side. He had faced 127 balls and hit ten fours and a six. At tea Glamorgan, on 376 for three, led by 18.

Sussex finally broke through when Labuschagne was lbw to Coles, who later had Billy Root caught at forward short leg. But by then Glamorgan had turned the game on its head.

Farbrace added: “It’s never ideal when you lose your best bowler. In many ways it sums up our season. We’ve had four games on the bounce now when we’ve played really good cricket, when we’ve been good enough to bowl a team out but not good enough to bowl them out twice.

It doesn’t help when you lose an international bowler who is bowling well and bowling with good rhythm. We dropped Carlson on three which was a big miss. But the two of them played very well. With our resources we have to take every chance that comes our way. We’re making good progress but we’re having similar days in every championship game. We get runs, we bowl the opposition out but bowling them out again is hard for us. It’s a good pitch. It’s slowed up a little bit. But there is a bit of turn there and you expect it to turn more on day four. We just haven’t got enough balls in the right place consistently enough.