Ollie Robinson will not be available for selection for England's second Test against New Zealand starting at Edgbaston on Thursday, June 10. He will now leave the England camp immediately and return to his county Sussex; Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden calls suspension "over the top"
Monday 7 June 2021 12:31, UK
England and Sussex bowler Ollie Robinson has been suspended from all international cricket pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation following historical tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013.
Robinson will not be available for selection for the second Test against New Zealand starting at Edgbaston on Thursday, June 10. He will now leave the England camp immediately and return to his county.
The fast bowler said he was "embarrassed" and "ashamed" as he apologised "unreservedly" for the posts, made in 2012 and 2013, which were unearthed on Wednesday as he made his Test debut at Lord's.
Robinson, now 27, was the pick of England's bowlers against New Zealand as he took seven wickets in the drawn first match of the two-Test series, while he also scored 42 runs at Lord's.
Prior to the opening day's play of the first Test of the English summer England and New Zealand shared a 'Moment of Unity', with the hosts wearing T-shirts designed as a stand against discrimination of all kinds.
Speaking on Robinson after England held on to draw the first Test, captain Joe Root said: "From a performance point of view, on the field, he's had an exceptional debut. With regards to the stuff that has happened off the field, it's not acceptable within our game - we all know that.
"He has dealt with a huge array of emotions over this last week and he has got to learn some hard lessons.
"He addressed the dressing room, and media outlets, straight away, he fronted up to it. He showed a lot of remorse from that point onwards.
"For us as a sport, we've got to keep looking to be better, educate and learn as much as we can and make the game as inclusive and diverse as possible. This team is committed to doing that and hopefully over time we can make a real difference.
"We've got to move forward from this, we've got to learn from it and do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has called the suspension "over the top" and urged the ECB to reconsider its decision.
"Ollie Robinson's tweets were offensive and wrong," Dowden said on Twitter.
"They are also a decade old and written by a teenager. The teenager is now a man and has rightly apologised. The ECB has gone over the top by suspending him and should think again."
