Jofra Archer accuses New Zealand fan of racial abuse during England Test match

Jofra Archer says he heard racial insults as England battled against New Zealand during the first Test match defeat.

England were beaten by an innings and 65 runs at the Bay Oval to kick off the two Test series in New Zealand.

England were bowled out for 197 with 21.4 overs remaining in Mount Maunganui when they needed to see the day though to salvage anything from the Test.

But now Archer, who scored 30, has tweeted to say he could hear racial insults when he was battling for the team.

He tweeted: “A bit disturbing hearing racial insults today whilst battling to help save my team, the crowd was been amazing this week except for that one guy, @TheBarmyArmy was good as usual also.”

New Zealand Cricket have released a statement saying they will apologise for the incident.

The Statement read statement: “New Zealand Cricket will be contacting, and apologising to English fast bowler Jofra Archer, who was racially abused by a spectator as he left the field at the conclusion of the first Test at Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui.

“Although security providers at the venue heard unable to locate the perpetrator, NZC will be examining CCTV footage and making further inquiries tomorrow in an endeavour to identify the man responsible.

“NZC has zero tolerance towards abusive or offensive language at any of its venues and will refer any developments in the case to police.

“It will contact Mr Archer tomorrow to apologise for the unacceptable experience, and to promise increased vigilance in the matter when the teams next meet in Hamilton.”

The ECB have also released a statement.

It read: “The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) supported by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) are conducting an investigation into racial abuse aimed towards England cricketer Jofra Archer during day five of the first Test match in Mount Maunganui. The incident took place after Archer was dismissed and was walking off the field to the pavilion.

“Through the scrutiny of CCTV footage at the Bay Oval, authorities are trying to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the remarks. The investigation is ongoing.

“NZC and ECB ensure that clear guidelines are in place at every venue so that watching a cricket match is safe and enjoyable for everyone.

“Whilst this is a relatively isolated incident there is absolutely no place for anti-social or racist behaviour within the game and it is vitally important that all spectators feel able to come forward to report such behaviour and feel safe in doing so.”

The second Test begins on Thursday at 10pm UK time.

Speaking about the game, England captain Joe Root said: “We did a lot of good stuff – we just need to do it for longer. It’s different to the style of cricket we’ve had to play in our home conditions.

“We can’t panic and think it’s the end of the world. We are working hard behind the scenes and if we come back strong, we’ll hopefully level it up.”

But the skipper has come under fire with some question his position.

“England didn’t quite get their mentality right,” Mark Ramprakash said on TMS.

“Stokes said runs would be important, but they didn’t bat normally. England went nowhere. It’s that indecision that cost Root his wicket.”

And Steve Finn said: “There are lessons for England to learn.

“If you look at England’s first innings, they’d laid a platform after day one but didn’t capitalise on day two, and that’s probably the difference.”

While New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said: “It feels great to win a Test match and it took a huge amount of work to get past their total.

“It was huge heart from our middle order to get over 600 and that gave us the only chance of winning.”

source: express.co.uk