England cricketer Ollie Robinson to take 'short break' from cricket after the ECB suspended him over historic racist and sexist tweets - with his county insisting his mental wellbeing is their priority 

• Ollie Robinson to miss two Vitality Blast matches for the Sussex Sharks 
• It follows the Twitter storm that saw historic racist and sexist posts resurface
• The ECB suspended Robinson from England duty pending an investigation
• He was still eligible to play for his country but has decided to take a 'short break'
• Sussex said they would continue to support him with mental health the priority 

Ollie Robinson is to take a short break from cricket after his county, Sussex, described the tweets that led to his suspension by England as ‘completely unacceptable’.

Sussex insisted that Robinson retained the support of all his county team-mates, and said they would monitor his mental health as he embarks on a spell on the sidelines. 

The club added that he would be welcomed back, ‘when he is ready to return’. 

But they also made it clear that the tweets’ content was ‘totally at odds with our stated ambition to inspire people from every background in our county to say, “I feel part of Sussex Cricket”.’  

A statement released by Sussex on Thursday afternoon read: '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. 

'When he is ready to return, Ollie will be welcomed back to the club, where discussions with the remainder of the squad over the last week have made clear that he retains the support of all his Sussex teammates. 

'We remain in close contact with Ollie from a welfare perspective and will issue further updates on his availability at the relevant times. 

'Another of Sussex Cricket's priorities is making cricket a game for everyone in our community. 

'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 to say, "I feel part of Sussex Cricket".

'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. 

'As a result of his actions, Ollie has had the opportunity to represent his country suspended, is at the centre of intense public and media scrutiny and faces the possibility of further disciplinary action from the ECB. 

'Sussex Cricket will not be adding to these significant penalties. The club will turn its attention to supporting Ollie in his commitment to continue to educate himself in the area of equality, diversity and inclusion.

'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.

'This is why, last year, we created an Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Committee of the Board of Sussex Cricket to devise a plan in this area.   

'Among the initial actions agreed are further training for all our staff, our Board and our Trustees, the introduction of diversity champions for specific protected characteristics, Urban Cricket Plans to maximise engagement with the diverse communities in Sussex's biggest towns and cities, a commitment to challenge non-inclusive behaviours in our organisation and the introduction of regular consultation with our employees, customers, volunteers, officials and players to make sure we know exactly where we can improve.

'Everyone at the club is committed to furthering our understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion through education. This will be an ongoing focus for us and one that will take time. 

'As evident in society as a whole, there are no quick fixes to address these deep-rooted issues. 

'Ollie, as well as everyone else at Sussex Cricket, will be involved in our efforts to make sure we as an organisation build on the work we have already done and continue to get better.'

The 27-year-old bowler will sit out two Vitality Blast fixtures for the Sussex Sharks this week to spend time with his family.

Robinson was suspended by the ECB pending an investigation into the offensive posts from eight and nine years ago.

He was therefore not selected for England's second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston, which got underway on Thursday.  

The Sussex bowler enjoyed a dream England debut on the field in last week's first Test against New Zealand but that was completely overshadowed by the emergence of racist and sexist tweets he posted as a teenager.

The tweets, from a decade ago, were published on the first day of Robinson's debut Test and he apologised publicly and privately to his team-mates for his offensive words.

In one, he wrote: 'My new Muslim friend is the bomb' while another said, 'Not going to lie a lot of girls need to learn the art of class! #getsome.' 

It's not clear at the moment when Robinson will return to action for Sussex - his suspension only applies to international cricket - but they also have T20 Blast games on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday next week.