The tension that had lingered between Usman Khawaja and Ollie Robinson for two days spiked during a drinks break as the Australians pursued victory in the fourth innings of the first Ashes Test.
A couple of days after Robinson delivered Khawaja a wild send-off at Edgbaston despite the fact the veteran opener had peeled off 141 runs, the two men were spotted in a tense exchange on day five.
The broadcast showed Khawaja and Robinson trading barbs when the Australians were 4-128 in pursuit of 281 runs for victory, with the veteran opener on 39 and batting partner Travis Head on one.
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“That’s why you’re not a batsman,” Khawaja was heard saying to Robinson.
The oldest player on the field, 40-year-old England paceman James Anderson, stepped in and pulled Robinson away.
”Just at drinks … Ollie Robinson just wandered off towards Usman Khawaja,” former England captain Nasser Hussain said in commentary.
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“There were a few words between them. Khawaja just saying, ‘What did you say, mate?’, Ollie Robinson saying, ‘What, me? What you on about?’. And then Jimmy Anderson just has to drag him (Robinson) off to one side.
“So there’s no love lost between Usman Khawaja and Ollie Robinson.
“Jimmy Anderson the peacemaker.”
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Former England batter Kevin Pietersen added to the theatre, chiming in from the commentary box and joking about Anderson being the peacemaker.
Pietersen’s feud with Anderson and several other former teammates is well documented — and he pounced on the opportunity to comment on Anderson’s involvement in the Khawaja-Robinson beef.
“I was just going to come back on that actually,” Pietersen quipped.
“Can you believe it? Have we ever seen anything like it?
“The number of times Anderson has been pulled away from batters, umpires are pulling Anderson away from batters.
“And I think Jimmy was smiling there, too.”
Former Australian batter Mel Jones chimed in.
“Jimmy Anderson says that there is two Mr Andersons; there’s Jimmy on the field and then there’s James off the field.”
The Australians eventually won the match by two wickets with skipper Pat Cummins and tailender Nathan Lyon combining for an improbable 55-run partnership.
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