'Have I turned a blind eye to things?' - England's James Anderson opines on racism

England pacer James Anderson opened up for the first time on racism in cricket as the iconic fast bowler said ‘the last few weeks have been thought-provoking’ for him. Cricketers like Daren Sammy, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo among others have been vocal regarding racism in cricket following the killing of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis while joining the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

After West Indies arrived in Manchester for their three-match Test series on July 8, Anderson said he will have conversations with his fellow English players on 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.

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“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 further said that things can’t keep going the way they are and players should actively seek part to put a full-stop 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.

Anderson, who is England’s highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, was unable to recall any instances of racism while playing while adding he was not present when his teammate Jofra Archer was subjected to racial abuse in New Zealand. He questioned whether he has been actively supporting his teammates on things related to racial discrimination.

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“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, Windies captain Jason Holder said that his team will have a word on whether they would participate in the protests going around the globe against racism.