Former England batsman Mark Ramprakash has revealed that few times he encountered racism on the cricket field while playing against Australia.
London, Jan 15 : Former England batsman Mark Ramprakash has revealed that few times he encountered racism on the cricket field while playing against Australia.
Ramprakash, whose father was born in Guyana to Indian parents, insisted that racism at large was not a major problem within the sport.
"Of course I've played cricket for a long time now and you expect it now and again from a few supporters who are tanked up after drinking all day," he said.
"The only time I've suffered any abuse of a serious racial kind in international cricket is against Australians so I'm not sure what that says about them," The Sun quoted Ramprakash, as saying.
"As for the sledging, it is something that Australia have always done. This isn't something which has got worse - they play the game hard and trying to put you off by sledging is the way they have always played the game," he said.
"It's how you deal with that that is important. I always turned it into something to inspire me and make me more determined to prove them wrong," Ramprakash added.
He also said that former Surrey teammate Harbhajan Singh is innocent of the charge of alleged racist abuse towards Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
"I've played with Harbhajan for two seasons at Surrey and having got to know him well it's not the kind of thing I imagine he would say," Ramprakash said.
ANI