Record-breaker James Anderson admits it is a difficult time for England’s Test players

Robinson is suspended pending an England and Wales Cricket Board investigation into racist and sexist tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013, developments which drew attention away from a successful international debut on the field against New Zealand.

The row has since escalated, with the ECB becoming aware of a second unidentified player posting “historic offensive material” on social media and political interventions from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Both have suggested Robinson’s removal from Thursday’s second Test against the Black Caps is a harsh response to his teenage transgressions.

The spotlight is on Joe Root’s side, who stood together in a ‘moment of unity’ against all forms of discrimination just before the Robinson news broke.

Anderson, who has been part of the England dressing room since 2002 and will this week become the country’s most capped Test player, said: “It’s a difficult time. As players, we’re trying to learn from this really.

“We’ve realised that it’s important to try and get educated around these issues, which we’re continuing to do with the ECB and the PCA (Professional Cricketers’ Association). We’ve all been doing workshops before this series to try and help improve ourselves as people basically, to try and make sure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen.

“Yes, we do make mistakes, everyone does and as people we’ve got to try improve and make sure this sort of stuff doesn’t happen and make sure people are aware it’s not acceptable.

“(Robinson) stood up in front of the group and apologised and you can see how sincere he was, and how upset he was. I think as a group, we’ve appreciated that he’s a different person now.”

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.