There won’t be fan messages on giant screens in future: BCCI official

The sickening prank by spectators on the Wankhede giant screen seems to have irked the authorities if Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked the state associations to stop flashing fan messages on the giant screen inside the grounds as a measure to stop such event from taking place in the future. Reports from other source suggest that the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has been told to prevent that during the fifth and final Test against England which starts in Chennai on Friday.

A few erratic fans thought of pranks and hijacked the scoreboard at Wankhede for sickening spoof-texting during the Test match. Spectators were invited to send messages in support of their teams that would be displayed on the scoreboard. However, the idea turned out to be really bad as on the third day of the match jokes started to appear on the giant screen. Reference was made to the shamed English footballer Adam Johnson to politician Nigel Farage and deceased former IRA member Bobby Sands.

‘Lovely to see so many young cricket fans here today! – Adam Johnson,’ read one. The former Manchester City and Sunderland footballer was sent to six years in prison earlier this year as a convicted paedophile. ‘So grateful for my parents to bring me to the Cricket! Great day so far – Madeleine McCann,’ read another, referring to the three-year-old girl who went missing on a holiday in Portugal in 2007.

A BCCI official admitted that members of Tech Front, the operators of the giant screen at the Wankhede, have been spoken to. “Corrective measures are being put in place. You can say that there won’t be such fan messages in future. Strict instructions have gone to the state association and the operators have been seriously spoken to,” said a BCCI official.

It is understood that match referee Jeff Crowe had spoken to the BCCI officials after the fiasco was brought to his notice. Crowe discussed the issue with hosts Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) members as well.