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Ollie Robinson Likely To Be Dropped From 2Nd Test Against New Zealand For Racist And Sexist Tweets

Ollie Robinson likely to be dropped from 2nd Test against New Zealand for 'racist and sexist' tweets

England newcomer Ollie Robinson, who made an impressive debut in the ongoing Test match at Lord’s is is likely to face exclusion from the second Test against New Zealand for the ‘racist and sexist' tweets he sent out when he was just 18-year old, The Telegraph reported.

The ECB has launched an investigation and Robinson’s exclusion from the team could well be extended for some part of the series against India as well, the report stated further. Also, the ECB is mulling a vetting process of profiles of new and merging players to avoid such ‘embarrassing situations in the future.

“We have a zero-tolerance stance to any form of discrimination and there are rules in place that handle conduct of this nature. We will initiate a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process,” ECB CEO Tom Harrison had said in a statement on the same night when Robinson’s tweets went viral.

The pacer has already apologised for what he called ‘thoughtless and irresponsible’ behaviour on his part irrespective of his state of mind then.

Robinson however found support in his squad as England assistant coach Graham Thorpe said that as he has accepted his mistakes and apologised for it to the dressing room and the world, the onus was on the dressing room to support him so early in his career.

“He had to say sorry to the dressing room, he had to say sorry to the world about what he did. So from that perspective it's very hard for him but he knows he made mistakes. So at the end of the day, that's why he had to make those apologies. But in our dressing room, we had to support him as well,” Thorpe said.

The second Test of the series against New Zealand is scheduled to start on June 10 at Edgbaston in Birmingham while the series against India will start on August 04 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

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It’s clearly something that needs to be looked at: Thorpe on Robinson fiasco

Batting coach Graham Thorpe has said that the social media of the players can be reviewed before they are selected for the national side. Thorpe’s comments have come after pacer Ollie Robinson’s old sexist and racist social media posts surfaced earlier this week. “It’s clearly something that might need to be looked at so that a day like yesterday doesn’t happen,” Thorpe was quoted as saying by ‘BBC’. Robinson though made the apologies for his posts and further added that he made the remarks as a teenager. “I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago which have today become public,” he said. The fast bowler also said that he regrets his actions and is ashamed of the remarks that he made. “I want to make it clear that I’m not racist and I’m not sexist. I deeply regret my actions and I am ashamed of making such remarks,” Robinson said. Robinson made his Test debut against New Zealand in the first clash of the two-match series at Lord’s. He returned with figures of 4/75 in the first innings as New Zealand rode on some fine batting from debutant Devon Conway to put 378 on the board. Conway struck a double-century during the course. England were 111/2, trailing by 267 before the stumps were called on Day 2. The start on the third day at Lord’s was delayed due to rain.

Devon Conway breaks many, establish some records on his way to double ton on Test debut

New Zealand broke many records on his way to a brilliant double hundred on his Test debut at Lord’s against England. He walked out open the innings along with Tom Latham and was the last man to be dismissed in a run out after betting flawlessly for one and a half-day. He became only the seventh batsman in international cricket and second among New Zealand batsmen to score a double ton on Test debut after Matthew Sinclair’s double hundred against West Indies on debut in 1999-00. He became the most successful debutant in Test matches in England by beating the previous best score of 154 runs by K Ranjitsinhji. He also became the first batsman to score a double hundred at Lord’s on debut and beat the previous highest score by Sourav Ganguly, who had scored 131 on his Test debut at the Home of Cricket in 1996. Among New Zealand batsmen, Conway went on to become the 12th batsman and the fifth batsman while opening the batting to score a three-figure score on debut. He also beat the previous record of highest run by a New Zealand opener in England when he went past the 121-run mark on the first day of the Test. Also, he came second just by one run from the highest score by an opener on debut by Brendon Kuruppu, who had scored 201 not out against New Zealand in 1987. He also became the highest run-scorer on Test debut against England beating 176 by George Headley in Bridgetown in 1930. He also trumped his compatriot Hamish Rutherford who too had a blistering debut against England in Dunedin in the 2012-13 season. Also, he is just the fourth Kiwi batsman to score a double hundred against England other than Martin Donnelly, Nathan Astle and BJ Watling. Conway was played over Tom Blundell in the playing XI who too had scored a century on Test debut and the team management would be ecstatic the left-hander ratified their call with a superb double hundred that may well put New Zealand in a commanding position in the first Test of the series.

Chris Green to join Middlesex for first half of T20 Blast

All-rounder Chris Green will be joining Middlesex for the first half of the T20 Blast. Green has been called-up as a replacement for Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The Afghan player’s availability has been delayed until the second half because of the "unforeseen visa issues''. "Mujeeb is not alone in having to quarantine in a country outside the UK prior to arriving and continued uncertainty over the timescale of these delays has caused Middlesex to make the decision to push back Mujeeb's arrival," the statement said. "As a consequence Green will have an increased number of games to play in. Mujeeb is expected to be with the club and available for the last seven group matches." Green is an experienced customer when it comes to the shortest format of the game. He has featured in the IPL for KKR, played CPL for Guyana Amazon Warriors and in the 2019 Blast with Birmingham Bears. Apart from this, Green played for the Thunder side that lifted the title in 2016. The all-rounder said that he was looking forward to joining the side. "I have really enjoyed my previous experiences playing in England and I am looking forward to playing at Lord's for the first time,” Gree said. Middlesex head coach Stuart Law put his weight behind Green’s selection and admitted that his T20 experience can be helpful for the side. "Chris is an experienced performer in T20 cricket and has played in tournaments all over the world. He has had a huge impact at Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash for a few years now and I look forward to him bringing that wealth of experience here to Middlesex,” Law said. In 108 T20s that he has played, Green has scored 568 runs while has 87 scalps to his name.

Hamstring forces Sean Abbott to return to Australia after brief maiden county stint

Sean Abbott who was signed up by Surrey for his maiden county and Vitality blast stint this April is now forced to go back home to Australia after injuring his hamstring in his very first outing for the county club in the championship. The county informed about this news in their official press release saying, “Surrey all-rounder sean Abbott will return to Australia after badly damaging his hamstring during last week’s county championship with Gloucestershire.” The New South Wales born was making his debut in the Championship and took 2/5 in the second innings and made 40 with the bat during the game which Surrey won by an innings and 47 runs. Surrey CCC Director of Cricket, Alec Stewart, while speaking on Abbot’s departure said, “Sean’s injury is incredibly unfortunate as he made a great impression during his first game and had already become a popular member of the dressing room.” With the departure of the 29-year-old Abbott, Hashim Amla is the only foreigner available in the squad. The Vitality Blast begins on June 9 while the preliminary group stages of the Championship end on June 7. Surrey are currently 3rd in Group 2 behind Gloucestershire and Somerset, but having played one game extra.