England fast bowler Jofra Archer has said the racial abuse directed at him by a fan at the end of the first Test in New Zealand was a “real shame” but that he has moved on from the incident. The 24-year-old, who was born in Barbados and represented West Indies at Under-19 level, tweeted on Monday that he had found it “a bit disturbing” to hear racial insults coming from one person in the crowd while he was batting. [caption id=“attachment_7697941” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jofra scored 30 runs to delay New Zealand’s innings and 65-run victory in the first Test on Monday.AP[/caption] The England and New Zealand cricket boards are investigating the incident and Archer received an apology from New Zealand Cricket chief David White, while New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has also said he will apologise to the bowler. “The first thing I want to say about what happened towards the end of the Test at Mount Maunganui is that I’m over it,” Archer wrote in a column here in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. “I’ve left what happened at the ground and I’ve moved on. I should also say it was just one person who was shouting stuff. But I found the incident a real shame.” Archer, who was fast-tracked into the England side and made his Test debut during the Ashes series against Australia earlier this year, said he was fine with opposing fans having a go at him but that there was no room racism in any walk of life. “If someone wants to shout at me and tell me I’m bowling badly, that’s fine. I may not agree but it’s fine. It’s part of the experience of being a touring cricketer,” he said. “To hear racism, though — that’s another matter. There is no time or place for it in any walk of life, let alone cricket. It’s just not called for.” NZC chief White visited Archer in his hotel on Tuesday to apologise for the racial abuse. White said he had offered assurances to Archer that there would be extra security for the second Test in Hamilton. “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.” 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. England lost the first Test at Bay Oval by an innings and 65 runs. The second Test begins in Hamilton on Friday.
Jofra Archer, who was born in Barbados and represents England, tweeted that he had found it ‘a bit disturbing’ to hear racial insults coming from one person in the crowd while he was batting.
Advertisement
End of Article