It’s been well documented that it has been a year of turmoil for South African cricket – and the last days of this year are not going to be any easier for the Proteas men’s team.
At the weekend, the newly formed Interim Board of Cricket South Africa (CSA), who are busy trying to clean up the administrative mess in the game, released a statement in which they expressed concern about the team not showing enough support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Although the Proteas, as a team, have pledged to dismantle racism in the game, they decided not to take a knee during the recent T20 series against England.
It was a disappointing decision because the team do not seem to fully grasp what an important gesture taking a knee is, especially in a South African context.
Other international cricket teams are showing visible support for BLM.
The New Zealand and West Indies teams have kneeled before the start of matches in the latter’s tour Down Under, while the Australian and Indian teams held a barefoot circle as a show of support for Aboriginal people.
Sportsmen in other codes – Formula 1 king Lewis Hamilton and Tottenham ace Harry Kane are just two examples – have also taken a knee and spoken out strongly in support of BLM.
On the field of play, preparing for a Test series in a bio-bubble will not be easy for the Proteas or the Sri Lankans. On top of that, the Proteas have won only one of their last nine Test matches, and that includes their shock 2-0 series defeat to the same Sri Lankan team last year.
Of course, we wish the Proteas everything of the best on the field of play. We look forward to seeing how Quinton de Kock develops as a Test captain, and the performances of several young players in the squad will also be keenly monitored.
But the Proteas would do well to heed the words of the highly respected Zak Yacoob, retired Constitutional Court justice and chairman of the CSA Interim Board.
In his letter to Graeme Smith, CSA’s Director of Cricket and Proteas head coach Mark Boucher, he said: “We should embrace every aspect of our Constitution fully as South Africans and show the world that all of us are together in opposing racism at every turn. The board feels Black Lives Matter has a particular meaning given South Africa’s apartheid past.”
Taking a knee during the Sri Lanka series is simply the right thing to do.
The Star