Australian fans ejected after abuse of Archer

Lancashire threw two Australia fans out of Old Trafford yesterday for using “foul and abusive” language towards England fast bowler Jofra Archer.

The pair were standing below the England dressing room at the Brian Statham End and shouted sustained abuse at Archer while he was fielding.

Among the insults were “Jofra, show us your passport” and other references to his Barbados heritage. Others sitting close to the two men complained to stewards but eventually went to the police as it escalated. A Lancashire spokesman confirmed the two supporters were ejected, with the club insisting they have a zero-tolerance policy on abusive behaviour. Archer did not respond to the abuse but looked angered by the comments.

Last month, the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, criticised England fans for booing Steve Smith and David Warner and they have had to cope with jeers wherever they have played this summer. Extra security was laid on for Warner when he worried about the safety of his family in England.

Among the insults from the pair were ‘Jofra show us your passport’

However, trouble at England-australia matches has been non-existent. The nastiest crowd incident this summer was fighting at Headingley between Pakistan and Afghanistan fans during a World Cup match.

The Archer incident summed up a frustrating day as a showpiece occasion that had been widely anticipated since the drama of Headingley was ruined by the weather. Only 44 overs were bowled as rain and strong winds hit Manchester.

The umpires took the unusual decision to play without bails after they were constantly blown off by the 40mph wind, causing Australian batsmen to pull away.

The umpires tried using heavy bails but they, too, fell off before a solution was found by hammering in nails to make the bails heavier.

Under law 8.5, the officials are allowed to sanction play without bails. They then have the power to decide when the stumps have been disturbed enough to warrant a dismissal.

“The one I pulled away for, the bails fell off,” Marnus Labuschagne said. “Then chip [crisp] packets kept coming across the pitch and a beach ball, so it was probably just frustrating for the game in general.

“It was very windy out there. I’ve never played a game where you’ve played with no bails, so that was very different. It was pretty tough conditions.”