A fan waves the Indian flag at the fifth T20 match between the Black Caps and India at Bay Oval on Sunday.

OPINION: Just two short months after Jofra Archer experienced racist abuse from a spectator at Mount Maunganui, there have been further unsavoury incidents at the ground.

The final match of the T20 series, held at the picturesque Bay Oval on Sunday, saw a fan banned for abuse, but it was an event witnessed by this writer which should concern the sport's administrators to a considerable degree.

Engrossed in taking a photo of one of the many Indian fans rhythmically waving a flag with the backdrop of another beautiful North Island sunset, I observed a security guard march up to the fan, and tell him that he was "stumbling around" and would have to leave the premises for being drunk.

Fiona Goodall Indian fans soak up the atmosphere at the T20 game at Bay Oval.

A quick search of the fan later, the guard found a hip flask and declared that the contraband meant he would have to leave the match. Quickly, the elderly gentleman's family and friends whipped around him, stating that they neither knew that a hip flask was considered contraband, and that no one had searched them at the gates, otherwise they would have discarded the offending object.

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A short discussion ensued between the parties, with the security guard agreeing to confiscate the hip flask, a sentimental 50th birthday present for the man in question, but allow him to remain at the ground.

Surprised that security were so quick to act over a fan at an under-capacity ground harmlessly stumbling as he waved an Indian flag twice as large as him, I went back to taking photos of the event and planning out yet another article about Rohit Sharma's superlative timing winning India matches.

TASNEEM-SUMMER KHAN Tasneem-Summer Khan is a human rights lawyer, cricket writer and commentator.

Within three minutes, however, all my concentration fell away from Rohit's batting. The security guard, looking fired up, marched back to the gentleman who was sitting quietly with his friends and pulled him out of the crowd.

Bringing him next to where I was standing, the security guard started aggressively shouting at the man, making hand gestures in his face, and shushing the (utterly silent and meek) individual. I listened and watched this behaviour for 45 seconds before I was compelled to interject, asking why the security guard was shushing the individual, and shouting at him slowly as if he could not understand English.

The security guard's response to me was to tell me to "calm down honey".

MARK BAKER/AP England's Jofra Archer was abused by a spectator at Bay Oval earlier in the summer. .

Switching my line of questioning as to why he considered it appropriate to 'shush' adults and refer to unknown women as 'honey,' I asked for his name and identification number which he promptly told me he did not have to provide me.

At this point, his manager rushed over to ask what was happening. I relayed his behaviour towards the gentleman and use of inappropriate language towards myself, to which the manager smirked, and then… called me honey. He was antagonistic, flippant, and quite literally rolled his eyes at the complaint of honey being inappropriate language.

It was akin to dealing with a prepubescent boy going through the change, should the boy be given power and responsibility beyond his capacities whilst actively seeking to inflame a situation. When I questioned the staff's training policies, the manager flipped, stating that I was banned from having another drink. Naturally, as a journalist working at the match, the only drink I was imbibing was my not-particularly-intoxicating vice of Coca Cola (with all the sugar, please).

ANDREW CORNAGA/PHOTOSPORT India's Navdeep Saini celebrates the wicket of Ross Taylor during the Twenty/20 cricket international at Bay Oval on Sunday.

Realising that the Bay Oval's security was amongst the most unprofessional I've dealt with in my career, I attempted asking him again for his identifying details to speak to his superiors about the incident. After repeatedly refusing to give them to me, and after interchangeably referring to himself as both the venue manager and the licensee, two distinct positions, he waved towards the horizon and said 'you can find my details on that wall there.'

I was then forced to spend the remainder of the first innings hunting down this man's name, whose professional obligations required identifying himself despite his refusals, and made contact with several individuals who occupied the positions he had claimed to. In the end, the (actual) venue manager proved helpful and assured me that I would be hearing from New Zealand Cricket in the matter, likely after the Hamilton ODI on Wednesday.

ANDREW CORNAGA/PHOTOSPORT A view of Bay Oval at sunset last Sunday.

In the time I spent looking for actual professionals to speak to in the manner, the self-identified venue manager/licensee followed me around the ground, standing mere inches behind me whilst I was on the phone, presumably in an effort to intimidate me.

Strangely enough, when my boyfriend arrived, the man quickly stopped following me around and left.

Incidents like this are not rare at sporting events, but what concerns me, and should immeasurably concern New Zealand Cricket are a number of things.

FIONA GOODALL/GETTY IMAGES Fans watch the game at Bay Oval.

Venues' greed in making money from marked-up beers, and thus disallowing a BYOB atmosphere is, to some sad extent, understandable. Harder to understand in the context of venues which fail to be at capacity all summer long, but understandable nonetheless.

However, after peacefully resolving the situation regarding the hip flask, the security guard went looking for a fight with the elderly man. When the incident was over, he marched back in to shout at him, be condescending to him, shush a silent man, and draw out his English in a racist trope so boring that I didn't realise people still did it. Then upon my getting involved, he, being likely from a generation younger than myself, pulled out a 'honey' to an adult professional woman like it's 1954.

By all measures this indicates that he is neither of a personality type appropriate for the role, nor is he capable of fulfilling his professional duties.

FIONA GOODALL/GETTY IMAGES Young fans mix with older ones at the T20 match.

What should be markedly more concerning for New Zealand Cricket is the behaviour of his manager who could have defused the situation instantly with a cursory (if disingenuous) "I apologise ma'am, it is inappropriate behaviour and we don't condone it." Rather he took the security guard's behaviour further and smirked at the power rush he felt when he repeatedly referred to me as honey. When I made it clear that I was looking to register a complaint against the security guard and his manager, he threatened me with no more alcohol'.'

Primarily, I would be concerned that security/alcohol staff cannot tell who is drinking, and who isn't. I would be concerned that the response to a complaint is a reprisal of depriving someone of services. I would be most concerned that the implication is that the only reason an adult professional would refuse to be repeatedly referred to as 'honey' is because she's intoxicated. I would be mind-blown that any professional in these circumstances would refuse to identify themselves.

In one ten minute incident, I watched a security guard use aggression, condescension and racism, and his superior employ misogyny, abuse of power and misrepresentation, and worst of all, take visible pride and satisfaction in doing so.

After the incident, the elderly gentleman in question and his nephew thanked me for coming to his defence.

"It's not the first time we've had something like this. No one even searched us on the way in or told us that we couldn't have the flask, otherwise we just wouldn't have brought it, but when they speak to you like you don't understand English… and you're from Rotorua…"

My major concern is that if the employees in question felt emboldened to act in this manner with a woman wearing a media lanyard around her neck, how are they acting with individuals who have no outlet or method of recourse?

For now, it does not seem that New Zealand Cricket condones the behaviour of the security guard and alleged licensee, however, serious questions must be asked about the way in which we screen such individuals and the responsibilities we grant them.

The sad reality is that the Bay Oval has given itself a reputation this summer that degrades the on-field action. Where cricket is rapidly declining into a minor sport, with attendance numbers visibly falling, we must consider how the structure's actions affect consumer experiences, asking ourselves what associations these incidents give with the sport.

* Tasneem-Summer Khan is an England academic lawyer, a cricket journalist and commentator who has covered a range of bilateral series and T20 tournaments globally. Her main areas of interest are associate cricket, franchise cricket, the administration of the game, and sociopolitical issues within the game.