Ollie Robinson tweets 'not acceptable' - England captain Joe Root

England and New Zealand settle for draw

By Stephan Shemilt
BBC Sport at Lord's

Ollie Robinson's historical racist and sexist tweets are "not acceptable", according to England captain Joe Root.

Posts from 2012 and 2013 were revealed on Wednesday as the pace bowler was making his England debut.

Robinson apologised and the outcome of an England and Wales Cricket Board investigation is due on Sunday evening.

"Ollie had has made a huge mistake," Root told BBC Sport. "He fronted up to the dressing room and the rest of the world, and he's very remorseful."

Sussex pace bowler Robinson, 27, took 7-101 and scored 42 runs in the drawn first Test against New Zealand at Lord's.

On the first morning, England shared a 'moment of unity' with the tourists, with Root's side wearing T-shirts carrying messages of anti-discrimination.

Later that day, posts which Robinson made when he was aged 18 and 19 were shared online.

"It's a lesson to everyone in the game," Root told BBC Test Match Special. "More has to be done, that continued education and learning about how to behave in society and within our sport.

"We've started doing a lot of good work as a team and we'll continue to do that. We want to make the game as inclusive and diverse as we possibly can and we'll continue to keep looking at finding ways to make that possible."

Speaking on Wednesday, Robinson said he was "ashamed" and "embarrassed".

"I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today," he said. "I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist."

'I deeply regret my actions' - Robinson apologises for offensive tweets

After the game, Root said: "He showed a lot of remorse and you can see that is very genuine from how he has been around the team."

Root said he "couldn't believe" it when he learned of the tweets, but that England had to "support" Robinson.

Root also said he had not considered withdrawing Robinson from the remainder of the Test.

On Thursday, batting coach Graham Thorpe said England may review the social media history of players when they are called up to play international cricket.

"The most important thing is we keep learning and finding ways to better our sport," said Root.

"We can look back at how could have been handled better, but the fact is it shouldn't have happened.

"If we keep trying to better our game now, in years to come this shouldn't be something that happens within cricket."

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