At first glance, Sam
Robson has the pedigree for international success: he was raised in New
South Wales and monstered county attacks for years before getting a Test
call-up.
Only it was for England.
In his second Test – the deciding
match of the series against Sri Lanka that concluded dramatically today – Robson
made his maiden Test ton, an unspectacular but very
interesting 127.
The ECB deploying cricketers born
overseas is
hardly new*. The ranks of proxy Englishmen have swelled even recently as players from five
countries turned out for the Three Lions in the series defeat by the Sri
Lankans. Even poaching Aussies isn’t a new one; however, the biggest difference
between Sam
Robson and Martin McCague (or Alan Mullally, ad infinitum) is that Australia
desperately wanted him in a Baggy Green.
