WTC final: Two people thrown out of Ageas Bowl for hurling racist jibes at Ross Taylor
Security officials at the Ageas Bowl removed a couple of individuals for hurling racial slurs at New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor during the World Test Championship (WTC) final on Tuesday.
The incident was brought to the International Cricket Council's notice by a Twitter user from New Zealand who heard the heckling on live coverage.
"@ICCMediaComms hey folks, is there anyone at the ground taking note of crowd behaviour? There is a patron yelling abuse at the NZ team. There's been some pretty inappropriate stuff throughout the day, including reports of racist abuse directed at LRPL Taylor... I wish I were at the ground, but it's really audible through the live coverage. It's been mentioned by quite a few viewers here in NZ. Because it's only a small crowd, it's transmitting really clearly," a couple of tweets from Dominic da Souza read.
ICC GM for marketing and communication Claire Furlong was quick to respond to the query and transferred the information to the WTC final security officials at the stadium. She later confirmed the removal of the abusers on Twitter.
"Just to let you know, two individuals have been identified and removed from the venue for their conduct. Thanks for taking the time to contact @ajarrodkimber and I, we really don’t stand for that sort of behaviour in cricket," wrote Furlong.
This is the second instance of crowd members being removed from the stadium in the last six months. During the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy, a few people at the Sydney Cricket Ground were thrown out for racially abusing Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah on the boundary.
WTC final poised for a cracking final day
The racial abuse marred a riveting day of Test cricket in the WTC final. New Zealand added 148 runs to their overnight total, taking a substantial lead of 39 runs. Indian bowlers were on the money against the middle-order but contributions from Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee pipped New Zealand ahead.
In response, India lost two wickets for 64 runs from their 30 overs in the second innings. Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara stand solid at the crease and all three results look possible for the reserve day of the WTC final.