England cricket star Jofra Archer has opened up on receiving racist abuse during the first cricket test against New Zealand, calling the incident "a real shame".
In a column for the Daily Mail, Archer said the abuse, which came on day five of the first test in Mount Maunganui, wascompletely uncalled for.
"I found the incident a real shame," Archer wrote.
"When you come to another country, you half expect fans to have a go at your cricket. 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.
Archer first revealed the incident on Twitter on Monday night, after he had made a career-high 30 in England's eventual defeat by an innings and 65 runs.
New Zealand Cricket quickly confirmed the incident, apologising to Archer and promising to examine CCTV footage to identify the man responsible – and threatening a life ban from New Zealand cricket venues.
Archer said he had moved on from the incident, but was disappointed by it.
"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.
"I don't want to go into the details of what was said but I know what I heard. I thought members of the crowd around the guy might have pulled him up because I could hear him from the pitch as I was walking off.
"I guess they didn't. But I know I wasn't hearing stuff. I told the security guard what had happened and that was it."
England fast bowler Jofra Archer. Photo / Getty
Archer also reflected on the ending of the test, where England couldn't bat out the final day to secure a draw.
"The one thing I was a bit disappointed about was my batting at the end. It was nice to show people what I can do, because I didn't get many opportunities to score runs in the Ashes, but I felt I left a few out there and I didn't really need to play the shot I got out to.
"I know the game wasn't lost on day five but I just thought that me and Sam [Curran] were doing well enough to at least take it to 5.30. And if we were in at 5.30 who knows what could have happened. If [BJ] Watling and [Mitchell] Santner were able to bat 89 overs, who's to say we couldn't have done something?
"New Zealand played really well and deserved their victory. And I guess if Watling gets in again at Hamilton, we'll just have to bore him out. Next time I hope the luck is on our side.
"Now my only goal is to make sure we finish this series on a high because we were all disappointed with the result in the first test."
