Charity, 3TC success won’t sweep BLM issue under the covers
ANYONE expecting Cricket South Africa and Supersport to match the quality and forthright message and broadcast delivered by the England Cricket Board and Skysports last week, would have been very disappointed by what they saw at yesterday’s Solidarity Cup production.
It was the first live sports event in the lockdown period. It was also a laudable charity initiative for causes related to helping the downtrodden as poverty sweeps the country while the economy crumbles. But the 3 Team Cricket event also came at a time when the sport in this country and Cricket SA (CSA) have been placed firmly in the spotlight over racism which has been prevalent in the sport in the post-isolation period.
Where Skysports and the ECB engaged in some frank discussion around Black Lives Matter before the first Test, Supersport and CSA paid very little attention to the initiative despite the explosive debates that have occurred in the last few weeks since Lungi Ngidi said he’d be calling on his teammates to take a stand on the issue.
Black players and coaches have signed a letter supporting Ngidi, and in days leading up to the 3TC event, a number of white players pledged their support.
Graeme Smith, CSA and some of its affiliates have done the same, but the kind of conversations witnessed in England last week were absent yesterday.
Everyone knelt before the first ball was bowled, but it took Andile Phehlukwayo, celebrating the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen in the last innings of the game, to make the strongest statement – revealing a T-shirt under his playing shirt, with ‘Black Lives Matter’ printed on it, while he stood with his right fist in the air.
Perhaps more conversations will come in the next few months. They must happen, because a gaping wound has been opened in the sport, and leaving it to fester won’t help CSA, the players nor anyone else associated with the cricket in the country.
As for the 3TC game; it was largely fun, although the absence of a crowd was notable with some horrible music filling in as background noise. Social distancing measures were practised, players washed their hands as they left the field and ball catchers with fishing nets were stationed around the grass embankment at Supersport Park to catch the ball.
The format derided by many wasn’t as confusing to follow as some had thought. It too appears to be very much a batsman-friendly format.
The bowlers will correctly argue there was some rustiness given that they were only allowed outside a few weeks ago. So Aiden Markram smashed a few, as did AB de Villiers, JJ Smuts and Janneman Malan.
Among the bowlers, of those who aren’t household names, Glenton Stuurman stood out taking 2/26 in his three-over allotment, bowling with accuracy and good control and variety.
Ultimately, the charity initiative served its purpose in that worthy regard. R500 000 was raised for the Kolisi Foundation, the Temba Bavuma Foundation and the Imibala Trust – which are all involved in providing food and meals to the country’s poorest citizens.
ANDREW Flintoff dared to do it in Mumbai. Sourav Ganguly reciprocated a year later on the Lord’s balcony of all places.
But generally the tearing off of shirts in celebration is left to footballers. Flintoff even later apologised for his chest-baring antics saying “it was 10 seconds of madness” and that he even “got a bit of stick for it in the dressing room. Sorry.”
Cricket was, after all, the gentleman’s game.
But that was 2006. It’s now 2020: The year when a record 86 174 people turned up at the MCG to watch the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup final between Australia and India.
Cricket is certainly no longer the domain of “the gentleman” anymore. Neither is it reserved for the privileged few, especially not solely for those whose pigmentation is lighter than others particularly in South Africa.
So, when Andile Phehlukwayo raised his right hand and removed his shirt after taking Heinrich Klaasen’s wicket in the 3TC Solidarity Cup match to showcase a “Black Lives Matter” logo emblazoned on his chest he certainly would not need to apologise to his teammates afterwards in the Supersport Park dressing room.
In fact, this could easily be the most influential moment in the game in our country since Clive Rice walked out to toss at a heaving Eden Gardens back in 1991 and Phehlukwayo deserves all the applause for it.
It showed a young black man, who had grown up with Lungi Ngidi and would personally have felt the victimisation of his friend over the past couple of weeks, display the courage to take a stand for a just cause he believed in.
Cricket SA have been under the microscope the past fortnight after the bubbling volcano of racism and disunity in the sport they govern erupted.
And all eyes were focused firmly on them and broadcaster Supersport on Saturday in the first live televised cricket event to be held since COVID19 brought a screeching halt to the game in South Africa back in March.
Both did plenty of stuff right. Female presenter Crystal Arnold welcomed everyone before President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the opening message. An emotive clip narrated by former President Nelson Mandela followed with the overwhelming message being “Sport has the power to change the world.”
The clip included footage of sportspeople around the world taking a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
All three teams, including support staff and commentators involved in the 3TC Solidarity Cup match followed suit after the national anthem played.
A significant image was former Test captain Graeme Smith kneeling alongside Makhaya Ntini just a day after the iconic fast bowler broke down in tears after revealing his “loneliness” while in the Proteas team.
Ntini and Smith, who is now Cricket SA’S Director of Cricket, later