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For once, the question was posed by a cricketer to a group of reporters.

“Did I give you a headline?’’ smiles Ollie Robinson at the end of an open and honest gathering with Sussex’s new County Championship captain during media day at Hove. “I usually do!”

It is fair to say Robinson has created more than his fair share of headlines, often negative, during a career where he has proved himself one of the most gifted but also flawed bowlers in English cricket.

There was the early sacking by Yorkshire in 2014 for disciplinary issues, mainly poor timekeeping and a lack of professionalism.

There was the emergence of offensive tweets he sent as a teenager on the day he made his England debut against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2021. There have been problems with his fitness that have led to him suffering back issues during at least three high-profile matches, and a public dressing down by then England bowling coach Jon Lewis at the end of the 2021-22 Ashes.

And there has been a penchant for outspokenness and sledging, notably aimed at Usman Khawaja during the opening Test of the 2023 Ashes, which led to Australian legend Matthew Hayden memorably commenting: “He’s a forgettable cricketer. A fast bowler that is bowling 124 (kmph) nude nuts and he’s got a mouth from the south.”

Ollie Robinson is congratulated by his England team-mates after dismissing Usman Khawaja at Edgbaston in 2023 (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

But not this time. Not on this sunny spring day on the south coast.

Robinson spoke well, as he usually does, but also with a maturity that has sometimes been lacking in his off-field utterances. There was none of the criticism, some of it veiled but some more strident, we have seen this pre-season from players exiled by the Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes regime, notably Liam Livingstone, but also including David Willey, Jonny Bairstow, and Ben Foakes.

Unusually and refreshingly, in this particular media gathering, which included The Athletic, Robinson only blamed himself for his 18-month absence from the England side.

Crucially, at 32, he spoke with an acceptance that he has made mistakes in a Test career which promised much but stalled, seemingly for good, at the end of England’s last tour of India, when he again suffered back issues in the only Test he played in Ranchi.

He has certainly not given up on England and, with the added responsibility that will come with being granted his wish by outgoing Sussex coach Paul Farbrace to captain the county in red-ball cricket, he wants to prove he is worthy of another chance to lead the Test attack.

“As much as people talk about a disconnect between England and county cricket, I think that can also be an excuse used by players who aren’t in the squad,” Robinson says. “I know, from my point of view, I used it as an excuse in the first year I couldn’t get back in, but I’d only taken 35 wickets, so how could I have expected to be picked?

“The door has probably felt closed to me ever since that India tour, but I’ve not done myself any favours, either. I haven’t been consistent for Sussex and I’ve had a few niggles.

“I can blame the England setup for not picking me, but I haven’t taken the wickets that I had when I was selected the first time round. It’s up to me to knock the door down by taking wickets and ripping up trees. If you do that now, I think they will pick you.”

A grounded Ollie Robinson of Sussex watches Hampshire’s batters run between the wickets last September (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Robinson’s ability has never been in doubt.

He immediately looked Test class when first picked, with his Glenn McGrath-like qualities of height, bounce and movement delivered at medium-fast pace, and initially thrived when Stokes became captain.

Despite those injuries and controversy following him around, he has taken 76 wickets in 20 Tests at a highly respectable average of 22.92 and could provide the attributes England are now lacking from a top-quality medium-fast bowler following the retirements of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Chris Woakes.

If England are picking simply on ability, and if Robinson and those close to him at Sussex are correct in saying he is more fit and focused than ever, then he should be taking his place in the first Test of the summer against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 4.

The question is, will his mistakes count against him, or, in a world when England have vowed to pay more attention to county cricket and turn over a new leaf, will Robinson be starting the season against Leicestershire on Friday with a clean slate?

“I think I’m ready, physically and mentally, to play for England again,” says Robinson. “There were issues I had in 2023 that were personal, but they have all been settled now, which has allowed me to focus on myself and my cricket for the last 18 months.

“That has meant I’ve been able to get my body back to the place where it was when I first started playing for England, if not better, to be honest. I feel like I’m ready to play all summer. Fingers crossed I can stay fit and take those wickets.”

Those fitness issues, which saw Robinson limping out of Tests at Hobart in 2022, Headingley in 2023, and that game in Ranchi early in 2024, as well as a warm-up match in Antigua at the start of the 2022 tour of West Indies, were addressed, says Robinson, during a trip to Australia this past winter.

“I went to New South Wales to train and spent some time with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood,” he says. “They have played so long without too many injuries, and it was a good opportunity to learn from them in a new environment.

“The Aussies are so impressive in how they train and go about it physically. They look a bit superior to us, so it was fascinating to see how they went about it. The issue with us is the intensity of our schedule and the lack of recovery time after matches, but I’m fitter and stronger now than when I last played for England.”

Ollie Robinson bowling at the Sydney Cricket Ground last November (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

That India tour early in 2024 was chastening. It was spent mainly on the sidelines and he created more adverse headlines by spending some of his spare time doing a podcast with his then-new partner — now his wife, the golf and fashion social media influencer Mia Baker — which did not go down well with the hierarchy.

When he was handed his chance in the fourth Test in Ranchi, Robinson hurt his back again, this time while batting, and was told at the end of the tour by captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum that he had to be fitter and more professional if he was to play again.

“Yes, I probably made mistakes and apparently I fell out with the England management in India, which I didn’t realise I had,” he acknowledges. “At the time, I was just left out of the next series and told I had to back up games of cricket and take wickets. That was it, really. There was nothing about the India series.

“But that’s nothing new. I’ve grown up listening to England players being dropped and talking about a lack of communication.

“Players might want more communication, but how do the powers that be do it when there’s so much cricket being played and when there are so many people who want to play for England? I don’t need communication now. I don’t think England is closed off to me if I play well. It’s just up to me to force myself back into the conversation.”

Robinson may need to stay fit and firing for the bulk of this summer if England are to put their faith in him again. But with Anderson, Broad and Woakes gone and injury issues affecting the bulk of their attack in the 4-1 defeat in Australia, they should certainly leave that door ajar to him.

Then maybe he will be able to create a few more positive headlines before he is done.