NZ vs ENG: Williamson condemns racial abuse towards Archer
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has apologized on behalf of his whole country to pacer Jofra Archer after he was subjected to racial abuse by a spectator during the first Test at Bay Oval. Archer claimed on Twitter that he was racially abused by an individual while he was batting, as England were desperately holding out for a draw on the final day of the Test match.
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
— Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) November 25, 2019
Williamson was shocked in the aftermath of the incident, saying that it was not an example of what the New Zealand culture stood for. The Kiwis skipper and the whole team have been widely praised on various occasion for upholding the spirit of the game. Speaking to Stuff.co.nz, Williamson said in a regretful tone:
“It’s certainly against everything that we as Kiwis are about, and I certainly hope that nothing like that ever happens again. I can only apologise on behalf of Kiwis to Jofra, not only from our team and how we look to conduct ourselves, but what we expect of Kiwis in general. It’s a horrific thing. 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. It certainly won’t if there’s any influence we can have on it.”
Williamson also claimed that he would personally try to reach out to Archer to render an apology.
“Was I shocked? Absolutely, 100 percent. I will try to see him over the next few days if I can, definitely.”
New Zealand cricket also released a statement, condemning the incident. They reaffirmed their zero-tolerance policy towards racism while also claiming that they would apologize to Archer.
“NZC has zero-tolerance towards abusive or offensive language at any of its venues and will refer any developments in the case to the police.”
The first match of the series ended with the Kiwis inflicting an innings defeat on the visitors. The second Test will be played between 29th November to 3rd December in Hamilton.
