Sussex star Ollie Robinson has been named as one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the year.

The England seamer joins Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Devon Conway and Dane Van Niekerk in earning a prestigious once-in-a-career accolade which dates back to 1889 and predominantly recognises performances from the previous English summer.

Robinson enjoyed eye-catching start to his Test career, taking 28 wickets in his first four matches against New Zealand and India, but his initial on-field success remains bound up with an indelible off-field stain.

 

A series of offensive and discriminatory historic tweets surfaced on the day of his Lord’s debut, briefly placing his international future in doubt and initiating a disciplinary process that saw him earn a partially suspended eight-game ban and a £3,200 fine.

Wisden’s citations are typically celebratory affairs, marking the achievements of those who have excelled in the English summer, but Robinson’s is as much an extension to the apologies he has previously issued for past mistakes.

Reflecting on his lowest ebb, he tells Wisden: “I looked at myself and thought: ‘Do I still have those views? Am I still that person? Are there bits of those tweets that are still in me?

“I was having doubts – that I was the worst human ever.”

Having successfully persuaded both himself and England that is not the case, the 28-year-old must now conquer the fitness issues that dogged him over the winter to turn his promising first year in international cricket into something more substantial.

He has missed the first three games of the Championship season but could feature when Sussex host Durham at Hove next week.