Suspended England fast bowler Ollie Robinson has decided to take a short break from cricket after a difficult last week, confirmed his club Sussex on June 10 (Thursday). Robinson was suspended from international cricket by ECB after tweets from 2012-13 emerged, where he had posted racist and sexist comments.

Robinson’s good work on his debut where he picked four wickets was marred by off-the-field controversy as his eight-year-old racist tweets resurfaced. Ollie Robinson issued an apology as well, stressing he was not racist and sexist, and that he has learned from the past.

Ollie Robinson takes a break from cricket

Sussex Sharks have revealed that the fast bowler will miss the first two games of their T20 Blast campaign.  He has decided to spend some time with family after a difficult last week.

“Ollie Robinson will not be part of the Sussex Sharks squad for the team’s opening two Vitality Blast fixtures against Gloucestershire and Hampshire Hawks on Friday and Saturday evenings. After a difficult week, Ollie has decided to take a short break from the game to spend time with his young family,” the club said in a statement.

Sussex said the tweets were completely unacceptable but added that Ollie Robinson is a different person now than what he was in the past.

“Ollie is a very different man from the one that wrote those tweets and has clearly learned much in the intervening years. He has made clear the shame, embarrassment, and remorse he feels for the discriminatory comments he made. As a result of his actions, Ollie has had the opportunity to represent his country suspended, is at the centre of intense public and media scrutiny and faces the possibility of further disciplinary action from the ECB. Sussex Cricket will not be adding to these significant penalties. The club will turn its attention to supporting Ollie in his commitment to continue to educate himself in the area of equality, diversity and inclusion.

“Ollie has more to learn in this area. We all do. We all have a responsibility to improve and to make cricket a game for everybody,” it added.