Brisbane, Nov 28, : Ashley Giles was the director of England men’s cricket and said on Sunday that he would support Joe Root in stopping play if there were any instances of racist behaviour among the crowds at the Ashes series in Australia. The oldest rivalry in cricket will be rekindled when Australia hosts England in the Gabba in Brisbane, December 8.The Aussie fans and England’s Barmy Army are expected to be loudest.Following the recent racism row involving Azeem Rasiq, there are concerns that crowds could be involved in racial abuse.
“I would trust Joe Root to do the right thing.Giles said that if he wanted to bring the team to the middle of the field and then stop the game while any incident investigates, then absolutely,” Giles told reporters via a virtual interaction from Australia.
He said, “I don’t think any of our player should be subjected to any abuse actually,” but he did add that discrimination and racism were particularly unacceptable.
After Rafiq’s testimony earlier this month to the House of Commons, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), published a 12-point game-wide action plan to combat racism and other forms of discrimination on Friday.
The plan included a “full examination of dressing room culture in all domestic and international professional teams.”
Giles spoke highly of the current England team and said that his experiences in this dressing room were very positive.
“It feels like there is a lot of diversity in our playing group.It works well together, supports one another, and most importantly, appreciates each other’s differences.
“But, saying this, we need to ensure that everyone has the same opportunity to enjoy the game, and to play the game.We need to improve upon the lived experiences of Azeem, which clearly reflect the lived experiences that others have.I am certain we can do better.He said that discrimination in any form is unacceptable.
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