Suspended England pacer Ollie Robinson to play for Sussex's second team
England paceman Ollie Robinson, who had decided to take a break from cricket after his old offensive tweets led to his suspension from international cricket, will represent Sussex's second team in Twenty20 matches against Hampshire.
Ollie Robinson was suspended from international cricket pending an inquiry into his historical ‘racist’ and ‘sexist’ tweets. Post that development, his county Sussex announced that he would take a short break from the game.
On Monday, the county informed that Ollie Robinson would feature in Sussex's second team in T20 games against Hampshire, starting Tuesday. Earlier, the 27-year-old missed Sussex's Vitality Blast games against Gloucestershire and Hampshire Hawks last week after he decided to spend some time with his family in the wake of his tweet controversy.
The England cricket team found themselves in the midst of a major furore after Ollie Robinson’s controversial tweets went viral the very day he made his Test debut at Lord’s. Despite issuing an apology, he was suspended pending further inquiry.
Amid the Ollie Robinson controversy, old tweets from other England stars Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and James Anderson also came to the fore. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) also admitted that they are investigating reports of a current player who allegedly posted a sexist tweet when he was 16.
There was no respite for England on the field as well. They were crushed by New Zealand by eight wickets in Edgbaston, which marked their first Test series defeat at home in seven years.
Amid Ollie Robinson controversy, ECB to review social media accounts of players
In the wake of the controversy surrounding Ollie Robinson, the ECB recently informed that it would review England players’ social media accounts to 'address any historical issues and remind individuals of their personal responsibilities going forward'.
Issuing a statement in this regard, the ECB wrote:
“The Board agreed to the Executive’s recommendation for a social media review to address any historical issues, remind individuals of their personal responsibilities going forward and help them learn lessons along the way. The review will be collaborative and will involve other individuals within cricket, including ECB administrators and coaches, as well as players.”
The statement continued:
“The Board was clear that this process would not prevent further disciplinary action in the future, should that be required, under the applicable processes, but it is hoped that the game can emerge from this difficult period stronger and determined to be more inclusive and welcoming to all."
Despite being under the scanner, Ollie Robinson impressed on his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s, picking up seven wickets and scoring 42 runs.