Vaughan admits he is already "a bit concerned" about England Ashes bowler
Michael Vaughan believes England bowler Ollie Robinson looks a bit "jaded" after Australia frustrated the hosts at Edgbaston in the first Ashes Test.
An unbeaten century from Usman Khawaja, his first in England, left the Aussies 311-5 at the close of play on Saturday. The visitors are now in a great position to claim a first innings lead, as they close in on England's 393-8 declared.
England were wasteful on Saturday, with Jonny Bairstow failing to stump Cameron Green and dropping Alex Carey. Stuart Broad was also left embarrassed when he clattered Khawaja's off-stump, only for the umpire to signal a no-ball.
Robinson, who suffered an ankle injury while playing for Sussex last month, failed to take a wicket from his first 17 overs of Australia's innings and struggled to get above 80mph on a slow pitch. Vaughan believes England may have rushed Robinson back from injury.
Vaughan told the BBC's Test Match Special: "England will be rueing those missed chances. And on this pitch, which is very flat, my concern is their bodies. They looked jaded and this is their first day in the dirt of a five-match series over six weeks.
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"I was a bit concerned with Ollie Robinson today. He seemed to go off the pitch a lot. I’m not sure if there is an issue with his ankle.
"The problem is this pitch is so slow and hard for the seamers, when you are asked to bowl bouncers, it takes it out of you. If they are going to be playing on these pitches for the next six weeks then some of these seamers are going to be in a hole."
Ollie Robinson struggled against Australia on Saturday (Getty Images)Do you agree with Michael Vaughan? Let us know in the comments below!
England need to take quick wickets on Sunday to have any chance of taking a lead into the second innings. Vaughan's BBC colleague Phil Tufnell believes Australia's off-spinner Nathan Lyon will play be looking forward to bowling on the dry pitch.
Tufnell said: "A bruising day for England. They will be kicking themselves, a dropped catch, missed stumping, a wicket off a no-ball. They could have got Australia seven or eight down. They must get a lead otherwise Nathan Lyon will be licking his lips. He will fancy getting stuck into this positive England side."
England went into this Ashes series having won 11 of their last 14 Tests under captain Ben Stokes. Yet they haven't won the Ashes since 2015 and lost to Australia the last time they visited Edgbaston in 2019, with Lyon taking six wickets in the second innings.
England will not want to start another Ashes series 1-0 down, but that prospect is now a reality due to their lack of spin options. Moeen Ali is their frontline spinner but his last first-class game before this one was in September 2019. Joe Root is a part-time spinner.
Former England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan believes Carey was the difference on Saturday. He said: "I think it has been Australia’s day. I would rather be sat in Australia’s changing room right now and the difference for me has been Carey.
"You always expect an Australian to grind out some runs on this wicket. That impetus late on in the day and leading momentum into when the new ball came in from Khawaja and Carey was outstanding."
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