Ashes 2019: Jofra Archer Infuriated with Australian Fans

The Ashes rivalry has taken a toll in many ways, be it umpiring error or Steve Smith–Jofra Archer battle. Now another incident came into limelight. On the first day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford, two Australian fans abused England speedster Jofra Archer in the boundary line.

According to a report in the newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald, the incident took place when Archer was fielding in the boundary line. The two Australian fans were seating near the boundary and asked, “Jofra, show us your passport”. Not only this, they abused him referring to his Barbados heritage and that too in a poor taste.

However, they were thrown out of the stadium. However, the supporters who were near the dressing room had to be evicted by the authorities following a number of the neighbours complained about the abusive behaviour.

Archer, on the other hand, was reported to be frustrated with the abusive behaviour of the visitors but chose not to respond to the pair. The incident, however, turned out to be a rare talking point on a gloomy day as only 44 overs of play was possible due to heavy rain as well as wind. The game got delayed for more than two hours after lunch due to rain. After that when it was expected to be played to regain that lost time, the rain again returned again during the tea break.

The Ashes series is current at 1-1 where Australia won the first one by a whopping 251 runs and England registered a nail-biting one-wicket win in the third one. The second one ended up in a draw. However, the fourth one didn’t start well for Australia as they lost David Warner for a 2-ball duck. Even the other opener Marcus Harris also fell for 13 off 24.

However, the situation didn’t affect Steven Smith (60*) and Marnus Labuschagne (67) that much. Smith, who returned from the missing third Test due to a late concussion, scored his eighth Ashes half-century. On the other hand, Labuschagne, who replaced Smith in the Lord’s Test, scored fourth consecutive half-centuries.