Jason Gillespie praises 'fantastic' Ollie Robinson

Sussex head coach, Jason Gillespie has praised the 'fantastic' Ollie Robinson after the fast-bowler was included in England's 30-strong 'behind-closed-doors-training group on Wednesday.

Speaking to BBC Sussex's Adrian Harms recently, Dizzy said: "I was fortunate enough to spend just over a week coaching with England Lions over the winter, ahead of their four-day game against Australia XI, and I got to see first-hand how Ollie's developed over the winter. He's in a pretty good place. 

"I wasn't at the game at the MCG [where Robinson took seven wickets in a nine-wicket win], but a lot of feedback I got from the Australian perspective was that Ollie was one of the pick of the bowlers - which was great to hear. 

"He performed strongly in Australia and that's on the back of some great County Championship form over the last few years. I think he's been fantastic. 

"He's shown genuine improvement in all parts of his game, but particularly his bowling.

"I've said this before, but I think he's one of the most researched bowlers that I've come across in cricket. What I mean by that is Ollie looks at a lot of footage, he'll study opposition players, he'll formulate his plans, he'll speak to other players, he'll look at numbers, statistics and work out his plan for each batsman. 

"He knows exactly what their strengths are, the areas he can possibly impact as a bowler with the ball and he knows his fields for each and every player that walks out to bat against him. 

"He is very well researched. He is a bit of a cricket badger! He's been fantastic for us and over the last few years since I've been at the club, he's been a real leader of the Sussex attack. 

Robinson has been included in the 30-strong behind-closed-doors-training group alongside some big names like Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, and Dizzy believes he could be in the mix to replace those two when they decide to hang up their bowling boots. 

"I think he's genuinely in the mix to fill those shoes. He's tall, he runs in and hits the seam, he's got good control, he bowls long, penetrating spells. 

"I can't see any reason why he can't be in those conversations to play for England in a three-man or four-man attack. He certainly wouldn't let anyone down, that's for sure."