Cricket: England's Jofra Archer on Black Lives Matter - I acted when I was abused in NZ

England fast bowler Jofra Archer. Photosport

England cricketer Jofra Archer has said he's glad the Black Lives Matter campaign has gained traction after he spoke up about racist comments made towards him by a fan in New Zealand last summer.

Archer was targeted by racial abuse on the final day of the first test between England and New Zealand in November, eventuating in a complaint being laid with Tauranga police.

The man responsible was banned from attending international and domestic fixtures in New Zealand for two years.

"I have always been an advocate of speaking out against inequality and now those four US police officers have been charged, at least George Floyd and his family can finally get justice," Archer wrote in a column for the Daily Mail.

"His death has definitely — I don't want to say 'started' because this has been happening forever — fuelled awareness. I'm not sure that racism is any more prevalent. It's just that more episodes are getting recorded.

"And what this past week or so has shown is that so many people around the world are behind equality.

"No longer will people just sit around quietly and let unjust things happen.

"As an individual, I've always been one for speaking out, especially if something bothers you.

"My personal view is that you should never keep things bottled up, because racism is not OK.

"If you feel the need to speak out, you should do so. I accept that others might choose not to make it public and deal with things in their own way, but it is why I acted when I was verbally abused in New Zealand last year."

At the time New Zealand Cricket apologised to Archer.

"We'd again like to extend our apologies to Jofra and the England team management for such an unsavoury incident and reiterate once more that this type of behaviour is completely unacceptable," said NZC spokesman Anthony Crummy.

Crummy said NZC would continue to lobby fiercely against offensive language and/or behaviour, with anti-racist messages posted on signs around the grounds, on the big screen, and delivered by ground-announcers.

In addition, spectators at all venues would be encouraged to use NZC's text alert system to notify ground security of any antisocial behaviour, including racist taunts and abuse.

"We want to thank the NZ Police for their efforts in identifying the person responsible, and for making it clear that this type of behaviour will not be minimised."