Ollie Robinson could miss entire England v New Zealand series with back injury

Ollie Robinson's hopes of a quick Test recall were dealt a severe blow when he pulled out of a tour match against New Zealand at Chelmsford with the recurrence of a stiff back.

Robinson has not played Test cricket since the end of the Ashes series in Hobart in January. He toured the Caribbean in March but a back spasm prevented him playing in all three Tests.

His fitness and conditioning for Test cricket were questioned in Australia with some “frank” conversations between Robinson and the England management about the work and standards he has to meet.

A tooth infection prevented him starting the season for Sussex until May and after a five wicket haul in his first game against Middlesex, illness struck him down and restricted him in the next match with Leicestershire. He was reduced to bowling off spin at one stage. He appeared to be making good progress last week when he bowled 18 overs for Sussex against New Zealand but was withdrawn on Thursday morning from a County Select XI, playing the tourists in Chelmsford, with no date put on his return.

Sussex have one championship match against Glamorgan, starting on June 12, before the third Test against New Zealand at Headingley. Robinson was omitted from the squad for the first two Tests and will have to prove his fitness against Glamorgan to have any hope of playing in the New Zealand series.

"Ollie felt a bit of stiffness in his back while he was warming up this morning before the game," said Richard Dawson, the ECB coach in charge of the County XI. "We had a chat and felt as a precaution that it was sensible for him to sit out this match. We'll assess him and move forward from there."

Robinson was named one of the five Wisden cricketers of the year and had a good first