6 overs in all. That’s about it. Just 6. But three of those maiden. 3 maiden overs. That’s correct. Conceding just 10 runs. That’s about it. Ten runs, on the whole. But here’s the point of difference; the very thing that counts. 4 wickets in all. Now, doing simple schoolboy math here suggests that with every ninth delivery bowled, a wicket was picked. That is not Jofra Archer. That isn’t Mark Wood either. That’s a certain Ollie Robinson. A name that refuses to duck under curtains of being undermined.

And what’s more? Such a top level batting performance coming in on the very first day of the opening Test match especially at a time where his own team sort of faltered with the bat.

But let’s dive in there a bit more to be able to absorb the intricacy of the entire effort involved.  

Just whose wickets did Ollie Robinson pick in the end? Well, he removed not just Devon Conway, the dangerous man up top New Zealand’s order but even their greatest batter ever in the form of Kane Williamson. And that’s not all- in bowling a splendid wicket maiden over in which three dismissals came that way, the tall right arm fast bowler also removed the immensely talented Rachin Ravindra.

But was that all? Anything but. He’d also take the splendid wicket of Daryl Mitchell, widely considered as a very capable batter in that talent riddled Kiwi batting order.

Now, here’s the thing that sticks its head above the rest in what was a sublime bowling effort on the part of Robinson. While there are wicket maiden overs in Test match cricket, which happen all the time, here was Ollie Robinson taking 3 hugely vital wickets all in the space of 6 legal deliveries and not having even a single run conceded off his over. If that is not impressive, then what is?

Furthermore, it’s not an everyday sight to see a batting legend in the form of Williamson departing for a duck, isn’t it? But then similar fate also came Rachin Ravindra’s way.

And as a result of a commanding effort with the red ball by the lanky Englishman, the Kiwis are right now tottering at 61 for the loss of 6 wickets. That’s when England struggled themselves being bowled out for a 140. That’s about it. Just 140. But right now, Robison is on fire and his opponents are finding a way to some runs which seem hard to come by. What an enthralling day of the first test match it has been in England. Wouldn’t you agree?