England pacer, Jofra Archer, scored 30 runs off 50 balls in England’s second innings but was unable to prevent his side from losing badly in the first Test against New Zealand. The Barbados-born fast bowler gave a statement that he was racially abused by a fan during his innings on day five of the match. ‘A bit disturbing hearing racial insults today whilst battling to help save my team,’ Archer tweeted on Monday morning. ‘The crowd was been amazing this week except for that one guy. The Barmy Army was good as usual also.’
The abuse occurred as Archer left the field of play, according to New Zealand Cricket, which said that it would be examining the CCTV footage to identify the man who was responsible and refer him to the police. New Zealand’s governing body of cricket said it has a “zero tolerance” towards abusive language and promised “increased vigilance” when the teams next meet in Hamilton.
Attempting to bat out the final day to save a draw, England were bowled out with 21.4 overs remaining as New Zealand took a 1-0 lead into the second Test of the two-match series.
Speaking after the emphatic defeat, England captain Joe Root said: ‘We did a lot of good stuff, we just need to do it for longer. ‘It’s different from the style of cricket we’ve had to play in our home conditions. There is stuff to address. It ended up being a good wicket over the course of five days.”
He added, “It was the right decision at the toss but not kicking on in that first innings has cost us the game. ‘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.”
The second Test starts in Hamilton on Thursday night.
