Ollie Robinson suspended by England over racist and sexist tweets

Ollie Robinson fielding for England - hours before he was suspended / Picture: Getty

Ollie Robinson has been suspended by England while cricket bosses investigate the offensive tweets he posted nine years ago.

The pace bowler has been suspended from international cricket pending an investigation into tweets from 2012 and 2013 which came to light on the first dyt of the first Test - in which Robinson starred with bat and ball.

On Saturday he became only the fourth English player in the history of Test cricket to take four wickets in an innings and score more than 40 on his Test debut.

But now the 27-year-old has been dropped from the squad for the second Test, which begins on Thursday at Edgbaston. He has left the England camp to return to Sussex.

Robinson was quick to apologise for the tweets, saying: "I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today. I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist."

After the Test ended in a draw on Sunday, England captain Joe Root told the BBC's Test Match Special the tweets were "not acceptable". "Ollie had has made a huge mistake," Root told TMS. "He fronted up to the dressing room and the rest of the world, and he's very remorseful."

Robinson returned match figures of 7-101 and scored 42 in his only innings against New Zealand.