Sussex Seamer Ollie Robinson has apologised after racist and sexist tweets he posted over eight years ago were made public.

Robinson released the following statement yesterday night after starring on his debut for England.

He said: “On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public.

“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.

“I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable.

“Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets.

“Today should be about my efforts on the field and the pride of making my Test debut for England, but my thoughtless behaviour in the past has tarnished this.

“Over the past few years, I have worked hard to turn my life around. I have considerably matured as an adult.

“The work and education I have gained personally from the PCA, my county Sussex and the England Cricket Team have helped me to come to terms and gain a deep understanding of being a responsible professional cricketer.

“I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone I have offended, my teammates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness in combatting discrimination from our sport.

“I don’t want something that happened eight years ago to diminish the efforts of my teammates and the ECB as they continue to build meaningful action with their comprehensive initiatives and efforts, which I fully endorse and support.

“I will continue to educate myself, look for advice and work with the support network that is available to me to learn more about getting better in this area. I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today.”