Sydney - Australian skipper Steve Waugh on Thursday backed controversial comments by Murray Goodwin that Zimbabwe's black players were getting a free ride into the country's Test cricket team because of their colour.
Former Zimbabwe international Goodwin, now with Western Australia, has been charged by his state association with a breach of Cricket Australia's code of behaviour for making the comments on the Zimbabwean side's selection criteria.
Punishment for players found to have breached the public comment rule range from a reprimand to a match ban or a fine of up to Aus$5 750 (nearly R30 000) for a first offence.
"It sounds really racist but in actual fact it's the truth and that's a sad state of affairs because these guys don't have to perform as well as the European guys to get a game," Waugh said of Goodwin's comments.
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| 'These guys don't have to perform as well as the European guys to get a game' |
Waugh, speaking to reporters ahead of Friday's second Test with Zimbabwe, said while cricket threw up a myriad of talking points, the sensitivity of some of the game's administrators and conduct codes left players in a Catch-22 situation.
Waugh, the 163-Test veteran, said players often censured themselves to avoid similar strife experienced by Goodwin.
"Even when you're out there if you do something not 100 percent correct in the eyes of everyone, you're considered a rebel," he said.
"But then on the other side of that is they say there's no characters left in the game any more, so you can't win either way.
"It's the same when you answer (media) questions. There's some topics that are touchy and sometimes you want to give an honest answer but you know if you do, you're going to be in trouble."
Former Zimbabwe skipper Andy Flower said last week the quota issue had been a "bone of contention" within the team for some time. - Sapa-AFP
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