Surrey's Ryan Patel was allegedly subjected to racial abuse during the County Championship match against Yorkshire at Scarborough. He reported that the incident happened on the first day of the match, and has complained to the England and Wales Cricket Board. Alec Stewart, Surrey director of cricket said, “We are fully aware of this unsavoury incident and have every confidence that the ECB and Yorkshire will deal with it in a appropriate manner.” And ECB spokesperson said, “We are aware of the allegation and working with the counties to establish the facts.”
Bill Mustoe, a Yorkshire vice-president said, “Plain clothes spotters were put in the area to monitor the situation. Nothing more was established and we'll see what happens as a result. It was just disappointing. We're not sure of exactly what was said, so we'll just have to wait.” There are many at the club who believe that the incident may have been misinterpreted. While, Surrey all-rounder Rikki Clarke wrote, “Been abused all day and even one of our players racially abused.”
Patel made his first-class debut from Surrey last season, after coming through the county's academy. He claimed 6-5 in 3.5 over against Somerset at Guildford in a County Championship game. The alleged incident will be a low point for the ECB, which has particularly made and effort to engage the South Asian community in recent years.
