The South Africa-England Test series has seen a lot of humiliation being endured by the home side, the latest of which has come about because of an act committed by ground announcer Sam Roy. On Day 1 of the fourth Test in Pretoria, the objectionable announcement was made as James Anderson prepared to bowl – ‘And Jimmy Anderson has the second new ball in his grubby paws.’
Stadium audiences sledging the away side is common, but it less common that the sledge is delivered through a microphone
South Africa cricket chiefs have now been known to have sent a letter of apology to their English counterparts and James Anderson for their employee’s faux pas. No complaint was lodged by the ECB because their stance is that they did not hear it.
The ‘grubby paws’ was quite audible, however, and elicited a surprised reaction from both the crowd in attendance and the players on the field.
Regular announcer’s unavailability
CSA’s stance is that the announcer, Sam Roy, had only been employed on a one-off freelance basis because their regular announcer was unavailable. Roy’s partisan tone, particularly how he referred to the away side as ‘the English’, has also not gone down well with travelling supporters.
A Cricket South Africa spokesman told the Mail on Sunday: ‘We have issued a letter of apology to James Anderson and the England management.
‘Sam says he meant no malice. This type of incident has never occurred before and we do not see it happening again in the future.’
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