Ollie Robinson showed 'character': Graham Thorpe post pacer's Twitter fiasco
Jun 04, 2021
London [UK], June 4 : England assistant coach Graham Thorpe said pacer Ollie Robinson showed great character on the second day of the opening Test against New Zealand, after apologising for the "racist and sexist" tweets he posted over eight years ago.
Robinson, who took two wickets on the opening day of the first Test, admitted that he was "ashamed" of making the racist remarks as his tweets from 2012-2013 resurfaced on social media.
"It was a tough day for him yesterday. He had to say sorry to the dressing room and he had to say sorry to the world about what he did. So, from that perspective, it is very hard for him. But he knows he made mistakes and that is why he had to make those apologies," ESPNcricinfo quoted Thorpe.
Graham Thorpe did not excuse the questionable comments made by Robinson. He added, "But in our dressing room, we had to support him as well. And we were really pleased, actually, that he showed good character."
"He had to be pretty resilient because of what he has done. It is not easy to go back out onto the stage and perform and I thought his level of performance was exceptional in that first innings."
Despite all the fiasco outside, Robinson came roaring back on the second day for England as he bagged two wickets and took his tally to four, most by any English bowler in the ongoing game. He also recorded the best economy rate.
Adding to the discussion Graham Thorpe also agreed that, in the future, England Cricket Board should put more effort into assessing a player's social media history before their selection.
"Potentially, yes," he said. "That is something that might need to be looked at so days like yesterday do not happen."
