England pacer Ollie Robinson to take 'short break' from cricket after tweets controversy

London, June 10: England pacer Ollie Robinson has decided to take a short break from cricket. The 27-year-old missed England's second Test against New Zealand after being suspended from all international cricket pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation into historical racist and sexist tweets.

Robinson issued an apology for the posts he sent in 2012 and 2013, when he was in his late teens, which were unearthed and shared online on the day he made his Test debut against the Black Caps earlier this week.

A statement from the player's county, Sussex, announced: "After a difficult week, Ollie has decided to take a short break from the game to spend time with his young family."

Confirming Robinson would not be part of the Sussex squad for the team's opening two Vitality Blast fixtures against Gloucestershire and Hampshire, the statement continued: "Player and staff welfare - including mental health and wellbeing - is a priority for the club and, as such, Sussex Cricket fully supports Ollie in his decision.

"When he is ready to return, Ollie will be welcomed back to the club, where discussions with the remainder of the squad over the last week have made clear that he retains the support of all his Sussex teammates.

"We remain in close contact with Ollie from a welfare perspective and will issue further updates on his availability at the relevant times."

Meanwhile, former England skipper Michael Vaughan has criticised the ECB's probe into England cricketers' old tweets and termed it a "witch hunt" that must stop. The ECB is investigating alleged racist remarks on social media by many of its cricketers.

England's white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler are under investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after their tweets, mocking Indians, surfaced on social media on Wednesday (June 9).

"No one at the time of Morgan's, Buttler's & Anderson's tweets seemed offended at the time they tweeted but it's amazing how they now seem offensive a few years later!!!!!! Utterly ridiculous... The witch hunt has started but has to stop," Vaughan tweeted.

(AP)