The England Cricket Board (ECB) has suspended Ollie Robinson from all international cricket. The decision came after some racist and sexist tweets posted by him in 2012 and 2013 surfaced during the Lord’s Test match. The decision rules Robinson out for selection for the second Test match against New Zealand, starting 10 June at Edgbaston. Robinson, however, will be allowed to play for Sussex.
The ECB released Robinson from the England camp immediately. On Test debut, he returned impressive match figures of 7-101 and amassed 42 runs in the first Test at Lord’s.
‘England and Sussex bowler Ollie Robinson has been suspended from all international cricket pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation following historic tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013. He will not be available for selection for the second Test against New Zealand starting at Edgbaston on Thursday, June 10,’ the ECB statement read.
Robinson’s historic tweets were discovered on 2 June. He issued an apology later on the day after accepting his ‘racist and sexist’ comments as a teenager: ‘I want to make it clear that I’m not racist and I’m not sexist. I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks. I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable. Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets.’
Tom Harrison, ECB’s chief executive, confirmed there will be a disciplinary process followed by a full investigation regarding Robinson’s remarks.
‘It’s not acceptable within our game,’ said England captain Joe Root after the Test match. ‘I think it’s a great lesson for everyone within our game that we can all do more.’
Robinson, 27, had stood in front of the Lord’s crowd before the first Test for a ‘moment of unity’ wearing t-shirts with slogans that said ‘we stand together against racism’ and ‘we stand together against sexism.’