It is no great surprise that Sam Robson became a Test cricketer. Eight years ago, the Sydneysider was opening the batting for Australia Under-19s and was handed a contract by New South Wales. His father had played professionally and his brother was a real talent, too. But no-one can have envisaged the Marist College Pagewood student would open in a Test match wearing the Three Lions and not the Baggy Green.



That is what came to pass last year when Robson, whose mother was born in Nottingham, made his England debut against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, the very ground where he has plied his trade since he arrived on those shores as an inquisitive and ambitious teenager.

His Middlesex team have had a fine season, finishing runners-up to Yorkshire in the County Championship and as the season drew to a close, Robson passed 100 first class matches, aged just 26. He wasn’t aware that he did so with a fine batting average of 51 – and a bowling one of 49. By the unwritten rules of cricket, that misleadingly defines him as an all-rounder, not that his left arm turns over much these days. Personally he has had a challenging 2015, averaging less than 31 and falling short of 1,000 runs. Playing for England again seems as far away as the Harbour Bridge.

“It’s been a bit of a funny season really,” says the right-handed batsman. I would have liked more runs. I got 170 or 180 against Durham early in the season. They’re the scores that stand out for selectors and I haven’t done that enough. There were a few matches in a row where I got 70 and that’s not good enough as you need to turn those into big hundreds.”



Born into a cricket family, his father Jim, who now manages the indoor centre at the SCG, played three seasons in English cricket, and first grade cricket for 20 years at University of NSW – “I actually played with dad for a whole season, in fourth grade for UNSW, which was wonderful” – Robson was among the most talented teenagers in Australian cricket. But a major bottleneck ahead of him on the road to stardom saw him choose a different route altogether.

“I was in Australia Under-19s and I had a rookie contract at New South Wales,” explains the St George Illawarra Dragons rugby league fan. “They had an extraordinarily strong side at the time: Philip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke. If they weren’t playing for Australia they were playing for New South Wales. At 18 years of age I wasn’t as good as those guys.

“I came over in 2008 and had a trial with Middlesex. I just loved everything about the English game: Lord’s, the second XI set-up, three or four hits a week. I thought this was too good to be true. So when they offered me a contract it was a no-brainer. It was no great drama in Australia – I was under the radar.”

Sam Robson says he is loving his time in London, ‘a great place to live’. Photograph: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

Robson made his first team debut at the end of that season and scored a first class hundred in his second year. His opening partners have mainly been the Australia Test opener, Chris Rogers, and the then England skipper, Andrew Strauss. “Chris helped me enormously – he still does. Seeing how he operates, how he goes about his business, his mindset. That rubbed off on me. He just did the basics right, which is how you become a top player. Same with Andrew Strauss. As England captain he would come back to play for us and take it just as seriously as a Test match. The focus he had on maintaining his game stuck out for me. It’s just being professional.”



Having averaged 47 in 2013, Robson got noticed by the England selectors. A successful Lions tour led to a call-up for the full England Test side. “I was brought up in Australia and I love it, but I’ve spent all my adult life here, played all my cricket in the English set-up. I am product of county cricket so I was proud to be selected for the Lions and then the Test team. It really was a dream come true.

Being involved with England was awesome. I know there’s certainly another opportunity there

“It was just incredible, a whirlwind,” admits Robson, whose younger brother Angus now plays for Leicestershire. “My whole life has led to this so when the call came it was unbelievable. It was overwhelming the first week. The build-up dragged on. It was a relief when the match actually started.”



He failed three times but hit 127 in his third Test innings in a defeat at Leeds. That secured his place for the series with India. Having started with 59, his next six innings brought him just 106 runs and the selectors’ axe fell. Robson went the same way as every other batsman given the role of partnering captain Alistair Cooke since Strauss retired.



“I felt like I was batting in the middle of a party. All the attention, all the eyes on you. Once you’re out there for a little while you get used to it and it’s great, like any other match. That’s what you play for: to play in games when you are under pressure with the spotlight on you and all the media coverage. Opening in Test matches is tough work. It requires different skills and a different approach – but I have always done it, it’s just what I do.”



Everywhere you turn at Lord’s you are greeted by images of England cricket. Giant billboards of Stuart Broad, lists of great feats over the years, the ECB badge, the Ashes ... It would be enough to drive lesser characters potty. Instead Robson derives inspiration from it.

“I love being based at Lord’s – it’s outstanding. Being involved with England was awesome. I know there’s certainly another opportunity there. I need to score a lot of runs. It’s as simple as that.”

Robson doesn’t even get to perform when 25,000 pack Lord’s for Middlesex’s T20 games on summer Thursday evenings as his slim frame and steady innings-building is considered unsuitable for the big bash format. Instead he bats in front of three-figure crowds when the late morning temperature is barely into the teens as the English season kicks off in early April and ends in late September. But he has no intention of heading back to Sydney any time soon, other than to see friends and family at Christmas.

“I love living in London,” says Robson, who lives a couple of miles north of Lord’s with a flat-mate from outside the cricket bubble. “I love the buzz – socialising, having a beer in town, going for lunch somewhere I haven’t been. There’s a lot to do here. It’s a great place to live. I’m very lucky being a professional cricketer. I am well aware how spoilt I am.”