New Zealand's Ross Taylor plays a shot during the fifth day of the World Test Championship final cricket match between New Zealand and India. (Photo / AP)

Fans removed from final after alleged racial abuse of Ross Taylor

News
Sport

Author: NZ Herald ,
Publish Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2021, 8:53AM

Black Caps veteran Ross Taylor was allegedly racially abused by two fans who were removed from the stands at the World Test Championship final against India in Southampton.

The Times of India reports that security removed two individuals from the Ageas Bowl during the penultimate day of the World Test Championship final.

A fan watching on TV made the ICC aware on Twitter of crowd abuse during the final session of the fifth day while New Zealand were fielding stating that reports of alleged racial abuse towards Taylor.

@ClaireFurlong14 @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.
— Dominic da Souza (@teddypaton) June 22, 2021

Claire Furlong who is the ICC General Manager for Marketing and Communications, replied to the Tweet saying two individuals have been identified and removed from the venue.

Ahh ok, I’ll pass to security and see if they can root them out! Thanks again for bringing it to our attention and enjoy the rest of the game.
— Claire Furlong (@ClaireFurlong14) June 22, 2021

A fan can be heard during the TV coverage shouting at Taylor while he was batting in the opening session of the day but it's unclear if it is of a racial nature.

Day five ended with India on 64 for two, a 32-run second innings lead heading into the final day.