The ECB will not take any further the on-field incident that led England captain Joe Root to say to West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel: “There’s nothing wrong with being gay”.
When asked at stumps, Root, who made his 16th Test century on the third day of the Third Test, refused to elaborate on Gabriel’s sledge which, unlike Root’s comment, was not picked up by the stump microphone.
Sky broadcast the incident on their social media channels this morning after some viewers overheard it during play.
Root said: “It’s Test cricket, he’s an emotional guy trying to do everything he can to win. Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret, but they should stay on the field.
“He’s a good guy who plays hard cricket and is proud to be in the position he is. The battle was a good contest, he’s had a wonderful series and he should be proud.”
The on-field umpires, Rod Tucker and Kumar Dharmasena, warned Gabriel about his language and alerted match referee Jeff Crowe, who was satisfied the ICC’s code had not been broken.
Root’s century put England in control of the final Test of a series they have already lost. They lead by 448 runs with six second innings wickets in hand, and the West Indies will be without Darren Bravo and Keemo Paul, who are both injured.
