England set to drop Ollie Robinson for 2nd Test against New Zealand - Reports
Ollie Robinson’s past seems to have come back to haunt him. England look set to drop the speedster for the second Test of their current series against New Zealand after certain racist and sexist tweets from eight years ago resurfaced, according to reports in The Telegraph UK.
The posts came to light on Day 1 of the first Test at Lord’s which marked Ollie Robinson’s debut in the longest format. It is believed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is determined to make an example out of the pacer in their bid to root out discrimination.
The controversy created an immediate uproar as Robinson, who was the pick of the English bowlers in the first innings with figures of 4-75 in his 28 overs, found his cricketing exploits being overshadowed by questions over his character.
However, his exploits with the ball are seemingly set to go in vain as the ECB is likely to drop him for the second Test.
The bowler issued an apology at the end of the first day’s play, saying he "deeply regrets his actions" and is "embarrassed" by his old tweets.
Michael Vaughan hits out at ECB over row
While Ollie Robinson is undoubtedly copping most of the blame for his controversial tweets, Michael Vaughan believes the ECB should have done its "due diligence" on the player before handing him his Test debut. Speaking to the BBC, the former England skipper said:
"I'm staggered that the ECB don't do their due diligence on everything. By everything I mean- if you are going into partnership with anyone or a brand, you do your due diligence in making sure you know everything about them. They haven't done that on Ollie Robinson. I don't think this gets put to bed easily because what he has tweeted is out there."
The ECB has launched an investigation into the matter and it looks like Ollie Robinson's promising debut will be remembered for the wrong reasons, with the seamer set to be dropped for the second Test, which is due to start on 10 June.