It was at around 5.45pm on Ollie Robinson's Test debut at Lord's, against New Zealand in 2021, that the ECB put the finishing touches on the apology he would read out at stumps.
Historic racist and sexist tweets had surfaced while Robinson was on the field. He was informed of the situation at the end of play by then-head coach Chris Silverwood and media manager Danny Reuben. Given time to compute what he had been told, Robinson, then 28, took himself into the toilets of the home dressing-room and, perched on the marble bath, wondered if his Test career was over before it had even really begun.
At around the same time on Thursday, five years and two days after the first of his 20 caps - with a further 24 on the sidelines - the stands were alive with "Oh Ollie, Ollie… Ollie, Ollie, Ollie Ollie Robinson!" His name was sung with fervour after three wickets in his first over in Test cricket since February 25, 2024.
The fans were bellowing it out in unison one more at 6.33pm, after Robinson nipped one into the top of Daryl Mitchell's off stump to make it 20 for 5. The Black Cap who had scored a hundred in all three Tests of the series here in 2022 - the first of the Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes axis, for which Robinson was overlooked - had been dismissed without playing a shot. When the players eventually walked off for stumps at 7.22pm, New Zealand were reeling on 61 for 6, which made England's lame 140 looked anything but. Robinson, with a staggering 4 for 10 in his back pocket, was serenaded one last time.
There is anecdotal evidence to suggest this was the first time any England crowd has sung the 32-year old's name. He also became the first English bowler to take three in his first over of a Test since such records began, the sort of stat that felt apt on day one of Lord's 150th Test. The method was fitting too: the throwback alchemy of seam manipulation, as Devon Conway, Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra were all beaten on the inside-edge in a triple-wicket maiden.
Just like that, Robinson had as many wickets within six goes of the new ball as Brydon Carse had managed off 216 during the recent 4-1 Ashes defeat. A period in which the former spent time in Sydney playing grade cricket, desperate to fall back in love with the game.
Therein lies part of the reason Robinson finds himself back in the fold. Injury (Carse), a lack of readiness (Jofra Archer) and form (Matthew Potts) has cleared a path to some degree, but the vacancy for an attack leader has always been there. Bringing back Robinson was an admission from McCullum and Stokes that it needed to be filled more than ever, rectifying their own mistakes of a brain-drain in the bowling group following the retirements of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, and the lack of consistent bowling coach.
In a fast-moving Test, their hopes were realized in double-quick time. As Kyle Jamieson was tearing through England, Robinson opted to watch action from the television in the dressing-room rather than the balcony. He noticed how the pitch was more conducive to wobble-seam deliveries. After spreading that information to his fellow quicks, Robinson took it upon himself to play bowling consultant on the field, guiding Atkinson to trap New Zealand skipper Tom Latham leg-before.
"Their swing balls weren't reacting off the pitch as much as their wobble was," said Robinson. "All of the batters came back and said it was nipping quite fast, even though some of the air speed wasn't as quick. I thought as soon as I go out there, I'll just try and wobble it.
"Me and Gus spoke about swinging it back to Latham, just before he got him out, because he started to leave straightaway, as soon as he could see the line. But apart from that it was mainly wobble."
Of course, Robinson has always been this player. The problem is the management group got to a point where they felt he could not be relied upon.
The focus on a younger, more energetic team - and by proxy, a quicker attack - after the 4-1 defeat in India meant Robinson was not just deemed surplus to requirements, but the antithesis of what they wanted to build. Particularly after fitness and perceived attitude problems on that tour, including being distant from his teammates. Now, that after that same scoreline in Australia, he is suddenly exactly what they have been missing.
It is not wrong to question how quickly the problem has become the antidote. And given a review into the Ashes brought little consequence for anyone in charge, many might see this about-turn as one last face-saving exercise.
But the reality is Robinson has always been this ungraspable personality. Less an enigma, more a tangle of loose contradictions purveyed by the man himself.
For instance, he admitted to nerves on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, more so than on his debut. And yet two days earlier, having been advised by those close to him to keep his head down and not draw unnecessary attention to himself, he decided to switch his shirt number from 57 to 1 - usually reserved for the captain.
"It's my lucky number, and my birthday [December 1]," Robinson explained. "I didn't realise it was captain's number but Stokesy (55) had no objections so I'm thankful to him for letting me have it."
All sound reasoning. And, sure, numbers in Test cricket remain a relatively new concept. But it seemed an unnecessary, and literal, target on his back. Lo and behold on its first outing, he could not have worn it any better.
Even Robinson's excellence came as a contrast. With an average speed of 80.3mph across his six overs delivered in one spell, he was the slowest bowler on show and the most devastating, each ball an event while most of Atkinson's 90mph deliveries came and went like reels on a midnight doomscroll in bed.
Though the next slowest was Jamieson (81.9mph), the most successful bowler of the day with 5 for 62, the two destroyers could not be more different; Jamieson is built like an Avenger, Robinson has more in common with the 1.5 billion fans who have watched the Avengers films, and bought the memorabilia.
Even the graft Robinson has put in to return to this level has, by modern standards, been nothing dramatic. Now Sussex captain, he regularly attends optional training sessions, admitting last month that this was not something he would usually do.
Perhaps the biggest contradiction of all is that Robinson has not really changed where it matters. He has always been an exceptional new-ball bowler, as shown by the 76 dismissals at 22.92 that, for the past two years, had looked like being the sum total of his Test career. That tally now reads 80 at 21.9.
It was instructive that, while McCullum and managing director Rob Key had told Robinson at the start of the summer that his Test career was not over, it was only when he was confirmed in the squad that Stokes chose to reach out.
"Stokesy texted me saying 'Great to have you back, but just know the hard work is still to be done'. That is what is constantly in my head at the moment."
Once the chorus of Lord's singing his name dies down, Stokes' words should continue to ring around his head. Thursday showed why he should never have left. It is on Robinson now to prove, after two false starts, that he is finally here to stay.