WELLINGTON – New Zealand Cricket chief David White visited England’s Jofra Archer in his hotel on Tuesday to apologise for the racial abuse the fast bowler said he was subjected to in the first Test at Mount Maunganui.
The England and New Zealand cricket boards both launched investigations on Monday after Archer reported racial abuse from a spectator to ground stewards at Bay Oval.
White said he had offered assurances to Archer that there would be extra security to ensure there was no repeat when the second Test started in Hamilton on Friday.
“I just had a good chat to him,” the NZC chief executive said in Hamilton.
“I said that we were very sorry that he had to experience that in our country and we’re very disappointed, but he was very thankful I had made the effort to come see him.”
Archer, who was born in Barbados and represented West Indies at Under-19 level, scored 30 runs on Monday to delay New Zealand’s innings and 65-run victory in the first Test.
The 24-year-old then took to Twitter to say he had found it “a bit disturbing” to hear the racial insults coming from one person in the crowd.
White said, if identified, the alleged perpetrator would be referred to the police and New Zealand Cricket would push for the person to be banned for life from attending cricket matches.
“Our team is working closely with the team at Bay Oval just going through the security footage and trying to get as much information as we can and hopefully we’ll find the individual over the next day or so,” White added.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who lives close to the Bay Oval ground, said he would also seek out Archer to offer an apology.
“It’s a horrific thing,” Williamson told Fairfax media.
“In a country, and a setting where it is very much multi-cultural, it’s something we need to put to bed quickly and hope nothing like that ever happens again.”
England team director Ashley Giles said the 24-year-old paceman had been affected by the incident but thought his teammates would offer him plenty of support.
“The tweet that went out was obviously emotional. It hurts,” Giles said.
“You know what our team is like, they’ll rally round him pretty well but it’s a serious incident. He’s a young man making his way in the game and we don’t need this sort of thing.” (Reuters)
