Ollie Robinson has been suspended from all international cricket pending an investigation into offensive tweets he published as a teenager and which resurfaced while he was starring on debut for England in their drawn first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.
The decision means they will head to Edgbaston for the second Test without the player who most impressed in the first, while Robinson returns to Sussex to ponder what has been a uniquely dramatic week. “From a performance point of view, on the field he has had an exceptional debut,” Joe Root said of the 27-year-old.
“He contributed well with the bat, his performance with the ball has been excellent, he showed high levels of skill and he’s definitely got a game that can be successful in Test cricket.
“In regards to the stuff that happened off the field, it’s not acceptable within our game. We all know that. He fronted up to it, showed a lot of remorse and you can see it’s very genuine from how he’s been around the group. I think it’s a great lesson for everyone within our game that we can all do more. We all have to keep looking to educate ourselves, trying to be as inclusive as we can, and keep making everyone feel comfortable to play the wonderful sport we have.”
Speaking before the decision to suspend Robinson was announced, Root promised the player his continued support. “The most important thing is Ollie is part of the dressing room and we have to support him,” he said.
“We have to try and do everything that we can to give him an opportunity to learn and understand he has to do better.”
There have been suggestions that players’ historic social media posts should be checked for potential embarrassment before they first play for England, but Root suggested that approach was unsatisfactory. “We can look back at how this could have been handled better,” he said, “but the fact is it shouldn’t have happened and if we keep trying to better the game right now then in years to come this shouldn’t be something that happens within cricket.”
Source: The Guardian