"I'm staggered that ECB didn't do their due diligence"- Michael Vaughan hits out at ECB on Ollie Robinson's hateful tweets
Michael Vaughan slammed the England Cricket Board for not doing their 'due diligence' on Ollie Robinson before the fast bowler made his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord's on Wednesday, June 2.
Robinson landed himself in controversy after various racist and sexist tweets from the past came to light on the first day of the Test between England and New Zealand.
Speaking on the BBC, Michael Vaughan said he was staggered that the ECB didn't run a background check on Ollie Robinson, knowing that he was in line to make his international debut.
"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," Vaughan said.
Adding further, Vaughan said that given the resources the ECB has, they should be knowing everything about the player before he comes into the national team.
"A few weeks ago, surely England would have known that Ollie Robinson was in their thoughts. You have to go through everything. These days on Twitter, social media it's all there for everyone to see. You can't suddenly - why didn't they delete it- that's irrelevant. He tweeted what he had tweeted in 2012. Yes, he was 18 but i do find that staggering that the ECB with everything, the resources that they have in their operation, they don't go through everything about every player that you pick just to make sure you have got everything covered," he added.
"I am ashamed" - Ollie Robinson apologizes for his past tweets
There is no bigger day for a cricketer in his life than an international debut. But Ollie Robinson's memorable experience will forever be soured by the controversy that has erupted. After the first day's play, the fast bowler came up with an apology and said he was embarrassed by his actions.
"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," a dejected Robinson said in a statement.
The 27-year-old was England's pick of the bowlers, claiming two wickets. New Zealand were in a strong position at 246-3 at the end of the first day's play.