Ollie Robinson avoids Sussex punishment for historic racist and sexist tweets

The England seamer will miss the opening two T20 Blast matches against Gloucestershire and Hampshire Hawks as he takes a short break from the game

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Sussex will not be punishing Ollie Robinson for the historic racist and sexist tweets which caused his suspension from England duty.

The 27-year-old is currently the subject of an investigation into his social media use after posts sent in 2012 and 2013 were uncovered during his Test debut against New Zealand.

Discussion around the episode intensified after the drawn match, once the ECB's inquiry had been announced and Robinson had apologised when prime minister Boris Johnson jumped to his defence.

As a result of the furore, Robinson will take a short break from the game and has been ruled out of Sussex's opening two T20 Blast matches against Gloucestershire and Hampshire Hawks on June 11 and 12.

While the Hove club have condemned his actions they have pledged to welcome him back with open arms when he is ready to return.

"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," a statement read of the right-arm quick, who joined the club in 2015.

"Ollie’s tweets were completely unacceptable, and their content is totally at odds with our stated ambition to inspire people from every background in our county.

"Ollie is a very different man from the one that wrote those tweets and has clearly learned much in the intervening years. He has made clear the shame, embarrassment, and remorse he feels for the discriminatory comments he made.

"Ollie has more to learn in this area. We all do. We all have a responsibility to improve and to make cricket a game for everybody."