‘Change is going to come to cricket’
Ramela spearheads uprising against an unjust system
LIKE the first stone-thrower directed at riot policemen during the 1976 Soweto uprising, Cape Cobras captain Omphile Ramela is not afraid to take on an unjust system, even at great personal cost.
Ramela is part of “Black Cricketers in Unity”, who penned a strongly worded letter to Cricket SA (CSA) voicing unhappiness about the lack of fairness in the Proteas selection.
Khaya Zondo, Aaron Phangiso and Thami Tsolekile’s curious omissions drove the black cricketers to speak up. The letter caused a storm. Nothing in modern South African sport — let alone cricket — had yet seen anything like it coming from players still in the game and it could prove the most significant step towards transformation.
But is their spokesperson Ramela a rabble-rouser or an architect for change?
“Change is inevitable,” said Ramela. “Anyone who thinks it is not going to happen, either they are very resistant or they [act like] they are not living in SA. This speaks to all sporting codes. At the heart of the matter is equality, not prejudice by one group over the other.
“A lot of South Africans think that when you talk about transformation that it is about taking away someone’s plate of food — it is not. It is about sharing equally without prejudice.
“It hits you harder when you see it happening to someone else. When you see guys that everyone agrees should be playing getting left out, you start asking why.
“We are not bitter and we are not asking to be selected when we don’t deserve to be. When selection is merited, give it to the guy. I don’t think we are asking for too much.”
Ramela, 27, is one of those rare sporting characters with thriving academic pursuits.
The St John’s College old boy completed his Bachelor of Arts or PPE (politics, philosophy and economics) and is working towards his masters in economics while trying to up his first-class batting average (27.76) and add to his five centuries.
He is mild in tone and manner and never recalcitrant. He speaks like you’ve already had a thousand talks with him.
All these, plus his modest Soweto upbringing, are felicitous features necessary to take the transformation debate to another level when they meet CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat next month.
“If there are things that can be improved, I’ll be critical of the establishment — that’s how I am as a person,” Ramela said.
“Working from within the structures is always the best option and you have to ask the question: ‘Is there justice in the selection criteria?’
“I understand why guys don’t speak out because they see a livelihood for themselves and feel that this could lead to a loss of income. The lifestyle is good and guys want to ‘turn up’.
“But the question I often ask myself is: ‘Is that income worth it? Is it worth going through the pain that you’re experiencing, the silence?’”
Ramela learnt cricket through Bakers Mini Cricket and remembers a profound meeting with West Indian great Brian Lara, who conducted a coaching clinic at Soweto Cricket Club in the 1990s. As a left-hander himself, Ramela admired Lara’s batting artistry and was switched on to cricket.
Cricket bestowed bursaries upon him throughout his levels of education. His meeting with Lorgat could mean he gives back to the game in a way no modern player has done before.