James Anderson opines on racism after Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle

After cricketers like Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo spoke up against racism, England fast bowler James Anderson said ‘there more that I can do to help as a player’.

Opening up for the first time on racism in cricket, England fast bowler James Anderson said ‘the last few weeks have been thought provoking’ for him. Cricketers like Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo have been quite vocal about racism in cricket after the killing od African-American George Floyd in the USA, giving rise to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign.

England's bowler James Anderson(AP)

A few days after the West Indies team landed in England for their three-match Test series starting on July 8, Anderson said, he will have conversations with England players regarding their contribution against racism.

“It’s been a very thought-provoking few weeks for everyone. It’s made me do a lot of thinking,” James Anderson said.

“We definitely will have conversations as players about what we can do to make a stand. It’s something that as players and a game we need to be more active with,” he added.

Anderson said things can’t be going the way they are and players should actively take part to put an end to racism. “It can’t keep going the way it is. That’s what I’ve been thinking about and is there more that I can do to help as a player,” he said.

While adding that he was unable to recall racism instances while playing, Anderson, who is England’s highest-wicket taker in Tests, said, he was not there when teammate Jofra Archer was subjected to racial abuse.

“I wasn’t there in New Zealand when Jofra was racially abused. It made me think and it made me think ‘have I turned a blind eye to things?’ I’d try to support my teammates if they did suffer any sort of abuse but have I been active in supporting them on things like that?”

“It also made me think, have I just turned a blind eye to things? I’ll try and support my team-mates if they do suffer any abuse but have I been active in supporting them?” Anderson added.

Meanwhile, West Indies captain Jason Holder has said that his side will discuss whether they would want to participate in the protests going around the globe against racism.

The England vs West Indies three-match Test series will be the first match after international cricket was stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic from mid-March.