The final session of the final day of a Test Match is usually one of high-drama, intrigue, suspense and tension, as the two teams try and strike a vital blow to their opponents after 5 days of toiling and battling away. Yesterday’s however, was a slightly drab affair as England declined the New Zealand offer of chasing the 273 runs required for victory within 73 overs. Instead batting out the rest of the day to reach 170-3, with Dom Sibley restoring some confidence after a run of low scores, by reaching 60 Not Out. The drama however, was to be found off the pitch, regarding debutant Ollie Robinson, who found himself suspended from International cricket after only 5 days. The big question is, should he have been and what punishment should he face next?
Well as always, the answer is complicated, complex and with various degrees of nuance, that need to be tackled, for it is not as simple as yes or no, good decision or bad decision, right or wrong. As a result, the next steps should be handled carefully and with thought. It is a big decision and requires a big answer, especially given it is a sensitive and relevant subject that it is regarding.
For why the drama came about, we need to rewind back to the opening day’s play. Whilst Robinson was making his first strides into International cricket and bowling well, old tweets began surfacing during the afternoon that Robinson had made when he was 18 and 19 years old. I won’t repeat those tweets here, but they were both of a sexist and racist nature, and definitely not acceptable. Most embarrassingly, the same morning, Robinson, along with his colleagues and opponents, all stood proudly at the start of play wearing t-shirts regarding inclusivity and against discrimination. The close of play saw Robinson making a statement of apology and owning up to his mistakes, but making clear that he has changed his behaviour since then. Despite the full apology and the contrition shown, Robinson has still found himself suspended.
The first thing that needs to be said is that it is only a suspension, whilst an investigation takes place. Robinson has not been permanently sacked as an International cricketer at this stage, nor has he been banned from playing for his county. The numerous tweets regarding cancel culture are as it stands overblown, in my opinion. In addition, England and the ECB, for right or for wrong have to be seen to do something. That is just a fact. The reality is that Robinson has admitted tweeting the messages, and they are clearly unacceptable. A suspension is only a natural and correct next step. To do nothing or to try and brush it under the carpet would have been an act of weak leadership, and would have left the ECB open to the charge that they condone the tweets in question. A suspension also provides breathing space to the situation and allows a proper investigation to take place, not just of Robinson’s actions but also of the ECB itself and how this situation has come about, for they do not come out this looking good either. It is the next steps after this that is concerning, and also could lead to Pandora’s box being opened.
As mentioned, it should also be said that this should have been dealt with long ago, Robinson has been on the fringes of the England team for a while, it should not have been a surprise that eventually he would have found himself selected in an England team. Due diligence, in detail, prior to his selection could and should have been conducted, so any issues like this could have been dealt with prior to this Test Match. The ECB are as much to blame for not doing this, and allowing themselves to be so blind-sided along with everyone else when this all flew into the open.
The suspension also throws up questions over previous behaviour. Should you be judged on behaviour and actions that took place 8, 9, 10 years ago? Should you be judged for behaviour that took place when someone was 18, 19 years old, when you are immature and stupid, and more likely to make bad decisions? It is very easy to judge someone by the standards of 2021 and when they’re 27 years old, but a lot tougher when they have only just turned an adult and in a previous age where social media was still in its infancy and people did not know the full repercussions of what you put on there. Let’s be realistic, everyone makes mistakes at 18 and 19, myself included. It is all part of growing up, and the learning process of becoming an adult, so that they do not happen again in the future. Added to which, how far back do you go? Retrospective bans are very rarely productive for a good reason because they create inconsistencies.
Robinson has also faced a punishment already. No matter his performance in this Test Match, and it was an admirable performance with 7 wickets taken and 42 runs scored. On pure cricketing matters, he demonstrated that he could belong at this level and have a fine career as an International cricketer. However it will not be a debut that he will look back at fondly. His big day was ruined by his own stupidity. You only ever make one debut in Test cricket - his was ruined and the memory tarred by the tweets being dug up. No matter what happens next, the biggest day of his career was overshadowed by off the field events, and his performances are largely irrelevant as a result. However which way you look at it, that is a pretty harsh lesson and punishment that he has had.
The key question that has to be asked of Robinson, does he still hold those views that he tweeted, and does he still believe in them? Quite clearly he does not, as his contrition and visible regret has shown. He has himself admitted that he made several mistakes when he was 18 and 19, leading to himself being sacked from his county Yorkshire as a result. It is to be admired that at the age of 27 he finally made his England debut, for it is proof that what you do when you are younger should not define who you can become as you progress through adulthood. It should also be pointed out that Robinson has fronted up inside and outside of the dressing room, and has took full responsibility for his actions. Whilst the tweets were of an immature and stupid child, his subsequent actions this week has shown a more responsible and mature adult. As a result, that should be taken into consideration when investigating and deciding on the next steps.
Cricket also has to be careful here, as this incident has the potential to open Pandora’s Box, and expose the sport to issues that could cause further issues down the line. This incident here came about due to someone digging through Robinson’s old tweets and exposing them at the most opportune time for the biggest effect. That person clearly had an axe to grind against Robinson to have done so. The last few days no doubt were full of professional cricketers going through their social media outlets and deleting anything and everything that could be interpreted as offensive. However it is not just social media that could come back to haunt people. Cricketers, like the entire population are all part of numerous WhatsApp groups, both cricketing and non-cricketing, all of which will contain thousands of messages. These groups, containing young men, still learning about life and going back several years, will no doubt contain messages that are no doubt far far worse than what Robinson tweeted. There will be messages than an individual put, thinking there’s was a private group amongst friends and somewhat of a safe space. Well, what if that space was not so safe?
Consider this, two players are going for a contract, one makes it, the other does not. What if the wounded party wanted to seek revenge, he would only have to dig out old messages that may have been sent and expose them anonymously to a willing tabloid. These messages could go back years, and suddenly like Robinson they are now front and centre in the public domain. Or a player that is part of a group that is made up of non-cricketing friends, and swapping messages of what he considers banter or at least private messages or in-jokes. That individual may fall out with that friend or that group, suddenly again, he could leave himself exposed to any number of messages that could be embarrassing if they were to be leaked or taken out of context, and be made worse than what they are.
The point here is that, like with Robinson, cricket could leave itself open to numerous problems further down the line. How they treat Robinson now, is a standard that they then have to set across the board otherwise they face the charges of double standards and hypocrisy. As a result, it comes back to the question, what do you do next?
Well the best way forward is to establish the facts and act accordingly as per the investigation. Namely, was Robinson a professional player when the tweets were published? Are the tweets offensive in nature? Has he brought the game into disrepute as a result of them? And finally, has he apologised, shown good behaviour since and is an improved character? The answers are probably yes to all. As a result, there should be a punishment, however given the high levels of mitigation across different areas as discussed, there really is no need to throw the book at Robinson.
Ultimately Ollie Robinson made a mistake, a horrific one, yet he has shown regret, contrition and there is evidence that he is a changed character from incidents that took place a long time ago and at an age where stupidity is more likely to occur. This could be a moment for cricket to educate others and make sure this does not happen again. Let’s not destroy a young man and his career for previous mistakes, that’s hardly the act of a society that is proud of providing second chances.
(The profile picture is taken from the Test Match Special twitter page, and any credit should be attributed to them).