Jofra Archer hits back at critics of his detour home, reveals racial abuse on social media
England fast bowler Jofra Archer has hit back at critics after he was admonished by many for breaching safety protocols when he travelled home shortly after the conclusion of the first Test match between England and West Indies at Southampton.
The detour Archer took to his house instead of travelling straight to Manchester proved costly as he was forced to miss the second Test and was handed a fine along with a written warning by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
'I haven't committed a crime': Jofra Archer
The Barbados-born player accepted his mistake but pointed out that it is human nature to err. He added that it was an error of judgement on his part and he has faced the consequences.
"Yes, I made a mistake in not driving to Old Trafford directly from Southampton between matches. But people make mistakes. I know what I did was an error of judgement and I have suffered the consequences of that. I accept I put the other guys at risk," Jofra Archer wrote in his column in the Daily Mail.
Jofra Archer apologised to everyone involved in the series and further added that the whole week has been very tough on him.
"I did not follow the advice and therefore apologised to my team-mates, to the West Indies team and to everyone involved in the series. But I haven’t committed a crime and I want to start feeling myself again. This whole week has been extremely tough and to spend five days in isolation has given me a lot of thinking time," he added.
Archer reveals racial abuse on social media
The star bowler also revealed that he has been racially abused on social media and that he has lodged an official complaint with the ECB for the same.
"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. I have forwarded on my complaints to the ECB and that will go through the correct process."
Jofra Archer admitted that he has unfollowed and muted a lot of profiles on social media to stay away from the criticism.
"Over the last few days, I have unfollowed and muted a lot of social media profiles to get away from it. I won't be going back on it. I find it unnecessary noise. Take two wickets and everyone is back on the bandwagon again. It's a fickle, fickle world we live in," Jofra Archer wrote.
Jofra Archer concluded by thanking his teammates for their support in this difficult period further adding that he played 'Call of Duty' with many of his teammates and also received a call from skipper Joe Root daily.
Meanwhile, England have made an unreal comeback and levelled the series thanks to some superhuman heroics from Ben Stokes. The series decider awaits us on the 24th of July and only time will tell which team will emerge on top and take home the trophy.