England pacer Ollie Robinson created Test cricket record by becoming the first England bowler to take three wickets in the opening over of an innings, helping leave New Zealand struggling at 61/6 on a dramatic opening day of the first Test at Lord’s on Thursday.Robinson, playing his first Test since February 2024, finished the day with figures of 4/10 from six overs as New Zealand ended the day still trailing England’s first-innings total of 140.The conditions heavily favoured fast bowlers throughout the day. There was no spin bowling.England’s batting lineup had earlier collapsed for 140 in 39.4 overs, but Robinson turned the match around immediately after taking the new ball.With the third, fifth and sixth deliveries of his spell, Robinson dismissed Devon Conway, Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra. Conway was trapped lbw, Williamson lobbed a catch to short leg and Ravindra was also dismissed lbw. “Feels a bit surreal, I couldn’t have dreamt being back,” Robinson told broadcaster Sky Sports. “It was so loud. I was in a bit of a daze and just trying to focus. The crowd were amazing, it’s one of the loudest I’ve heard them here.”The performance capped a remarkable return for the Sussex captain. Around Christmas, Robinson believed his England career was over. He had been left out in 2024 due to concerns over fitness and attitude despite taking 76 wickets in 20 Tests.Following England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, head coach Brendon McCullum contacted Robinson at the start of the season and told him he was back in contention. Robinson responded by taking 18 wickets in the ongoing County Championship.With Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse unavailable for the opening Test, Robinson was handed the new ball and delivered immediately.“I was in a place where I never thought I’d play for England again,” he said. “To get the text from Baz (McCullum) shifted my mindset. To get back in the team, I knew the date of the first day of the test and there was a lot of work. I’ve tried my best to get back in the condition for today. I know there’s a lot of hard work ahead.”By stumps, Robinson had bowled six overs, including three maidens, and helped put England in control.His feat also placed him alongside a small group of bowlers in Test history who have taken three wickets in their first over of an innings, as per a News18 report. Before Robinson, only six players had achieved that milestone, but no England bowler had ever done so.The first player to accomplish the feat was former Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Zoysa against Zimbabwe in Harare in 1999.Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan matched it in 2006 against Pakistan in Karachi, dismissing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the opening over.The other bowlers to take three wickets in their first over of a Test innings are Daniel Vettori, Haris Sohail, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland.
