Much as I wholeheartedly support our team and eagerly await the day when our team turns truly world-beating in all forms of cricket, I must state that in the event that the alleged racist remarks by our team members are proven to be true, strict action is required.

We may hold the purse strings of world cricket but that should not give us the licence to run rough-shod over competitor nation cricket authorities and to ignore the sentiments of the competitor players.

We risk developing a reputation of being sore losers.

Having lived until very recently for 40 years in the UK, I can personally state that being racially abused is very hurtful. As a youngster I was insulted numerous times as a ‘wog’, ‘Paki’, ‘monkey’ and much worse, frequently crying at home for hours. Only with the maturity of late adolescence, academic achievement and my family’s relative economic security was I shielded to a major extent from such abuses.

Maybe our cricket administrators and players, in their ivory towers, have been fortunate enough not to be exposed to such discrimination and insults. That is why they possibly fail to understand the gravity of the alleged offences.

There is no space in cricket for racism from any quarter; not from the players, not from the administrators and certainly not from the fans.

How would you feel if our players are subject to racial insults and monkey noises from the crowd next time at the Oval?

More importantly, unless you act strongly now are you not making such an occurrence more likely at English, Australian and Kiwi grounds?

... contd.