Dubai: Jofra Archer, the under-fire England fast bowler for breaching the safety protocol, has complained to the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) about the racist abuse he faced on social media over the last few days.
“Some of the abuse I have taken over the past few days on Instagram has been racist and I have decided that enough is enough,” he wrote in his column on Wednesday. The speedster was summarily dropped from the squad for the second Test against the West Indies after his offence was revealed.
“Since Wilfried Zaha, the Crystal Palace footballer, was abused by a 12-year-old online I drew a line and I will not allow anything to pass, so I have forwarded on my complaints to the ECB and that will go through the correct process.”
Archer was fined and warned by the ECB and forced to isolate on his own after being left out of the Old Trafford Test, which England won by 113 runs on Monday to level the series at 1-1. The 25-year-old went home last week instead of heading straight from the first Test in Southampton to Manchester under the strict health guidelines laid down for the series.
“I found I was struggling for motivation in the circumstances when it came to returning to bowling in the nets. When I walked outside of my room for the first time since being placed into self-isolation for breaking the COVID-19 protocols, I heard the cameras clicking with every single step I took,” he wrote.
“The whole spectacle made me feel uneasy. I know what I did was an error of judgement and I have suffered the consequences of that. I haven’t committed a crime and I want to start feeling myself again.
“I spoke briefly to the doctor about how I’m feeling and also to Ben Stokes on Monday night. Ben tried to advise me on how to deal with being in the spotlight of international sport. He vowed to back me and support me. Now, I need to be 100 percent mentally right so that I can throw myself into my cricket this week,” Archer added.
