Ollie Robinson’s debut for England in the ongoing Test match between England and New Zealand at Lord’s in London has been cast in shadow by the emergence of ‘racist’ tweets Robinson posted when he was a teen.
Twenty-seven-year-old Robinson, who took 4/75 in New Zealand’s first innings (which also saw South African-born Devon Conway score a double century on debut), posted tweets in 2012 and 2013 mocking Muslims and women, which many have perceived as racist.
Following the emergence of the tweets, Robinson issued a statement apologising for his youthful indiscretions.
Reports indicate that the English Cricket Board plans to make an example of Robinson by dropping him for the next Test match, whatever his performance in the current match.
It is not clear who trawled Robinson’s tweets or whether the objective was to find anything that could be perceived as offensive.