Chris Jordan has opened up about the "relentless" racist abuse he received on social media after England were knocked out of the T20 World Cup by New Zealand in November.
England were among the favourites to win the tournament, but lost their semi-final in dramatic fashion after a brilliant unbeaten 72 from Daryl Mitchell and a stunning cameo from Jimmy Neesham.
England's bowlers came unstuck at the death with New Zealand needing 57 runs to win off just 24 balls, a target they managed to reach with six deliveries remaining. And Jordan was on the receiving end of a brutal assault from Neesham in the 17th over that turned the tide in New Zealand's favour, with 23 runs coming from it.
In a video produced by Royal London and the ECB, Jordan spoke about the racist abuse he received in the aftermath of that game. "Six months ago, in the World Cup semi-final, things didn't go our way," he said.
"Social media, it was relentless for me, on Twitter and Instagram there were lots of [racist] comments on my pictures and in my direct messages because we had lost a World Cup game. People felt that I had a big part to do with that.
"From my point of view, the England team currently is as diverse as it gets. I know that I've made some very good, lifelong friends in that changing room.
"That's a credit to people like Eoin Morgan and Joe Root because our changing room is one of the most diverse [in world cricket]. Real change will come from within, through having real conversations, as some people are just unaware; it's about continued education."
Jordan was speaking to David 'Syd' Lawrence, the first British born black cricketer to play for England who is now the president of Gloucestershire. "I want to see more change off the field within all these corporations - there's got to be more representation for people of colour," Lawrence said.
"If I have a problem as a cricketer, I want to be able to talk to someone else of colour who understands what I'm saying. I'm the first Black president for Gloucestershire CCC, but you’ve got to start from somewhere.
"If we as a community, be that in an African-Caribbean sense, or a wider cricketing one - keep saying no to these roles, then where do we start? Hopefully in five-ten years’ time, we won't have to have programmes like this, we won't have to make films raising awareness about these issues because it will be the norm.
"For now, there are not enough Black coaches, there are not enough Black umpires - why is that pathway so difficult? I want to see players like Chris Jordan, with all his experience as a one-day cricketer, being the next one-day coach."
Royal London are dedicated to levelling the playing field across sport and society. The Changing Room series – having the conversations that matter. Watch episode 1 here.
