London, Jun 6 (IANS): Former England cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Vaughan praised debutant pace bowler Ollie Robinson for his performance in the ongoing inaugural Test against New Zealand at Lord's, despite the off-field controversy the 27-year-old had courted recently.

Robinson, in only his debut Test, took four wickets for 75 runs in the first innings as the Kane Williamson-led New Zealand were all out for 378. In reply, England were demolished by New Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee who returned figures of 6/43, and concede a 103-run first-innings lead on the penultimate day on Saturday.

England are currently trailing by 165 runs, with New Zealand batting on 62/2 in the second innings going into the final day.

Vaughan took to the Twitter on Saturday, saying: "If one looks at just on-field cricket matters then Ollie Robinson's debut is as impressive as one has seen for a long time for England he looks a player we should see a lot more of going forward."

Robinson had made headlines for all the wrong reasons when after stumps on Day 1, a series of his controversial tweets of sexist and racist nature from the past went viral, creating a controversy.

He issued an apology, which was posted on the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) website, saying: "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."