Cricket South Africa has reiterated its stance in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, noting it is aware of the comments made by current and former players on the issue of racism in cricket.
In recent days, Proteas fast bowler Lungi Ngidi received the backing of a group of 36 former black South African cricketers and coaches after the tall seamer was criticised by Boeta Dippenaar and Pat Symcox for saying that he will encourage his Proteas teammates to take a stand against racism.
Dippenaar and Symcox’s comments towards Ngidi weren’t entirely welcomed by many, with former players such as Makhaya Ntini, Vernon Philander, Herschelle Gibbs and Ashwell Prince among the names to have signed a statement released on Wednesday on behalf of the group of black players and coaches.
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And, with Saturday’s 3TC Solidarity Cup set to take place on International Nelson Mandela Day, CSA is looking at innovative ways to show support for the #BLM movement.
‘We note the claims of discrimination and racism that have been made by current and former players and coaches, and we acknowledge that these are a part of the sport’s past, and sadly, its present. We have to face the reality, as management and custodians of the game, that we need to come up with creative, tangible and meaningful ways to address this – even more than we have done already – to make sure that they are not part of our future,’ read the statement from CSA that was released on Wednesday evening.
‘As a national federation that is custodian to a sport that is loved and played by South African men and women, CSA is actively working to redress the inequalities of the past and to make cricket a truly transformed national sport of winners.
‘CSA welcomes the statement of support for Lungi Ngidi’s BLM stance, made by 31 players and coaches, and the CSA Board and CSA Exco stand with this group, and every other cricket player, coach and fan that believes that there is no place for racism of any kind in cricket. CSA encourages more current and former players and coaches to do the same.
‘CSA’s Transformation Charter embodies a roadmap for the organisation and its component entities to structure and implement broad-based transformation initiatives as part of a process of reinvention, re-engineering, and re-organisation of the cricket system.
‘CSA and its Affiliate Members affirm their commitment to a process of transformation based on the principle of broad-based empowerment and affirmative action that will continue to increase the number of people involved in the game; increase accessibility to all participants and participant groupings; and consistently improve performances.’
Last week CSA acting CEO Jacques Faul stated that it is of utmost importance to the governing body to throw its support behind the #BLM movement and that the organisation is committed to doing as much as possible to further develop transformation and diversity in its local structures.
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‘CSA continues to focus on the transformation of the sport at every level, and invested nearly R385 million in cricket transformation and development in the 2019/2020 financial year, and met its transformation targets at the development level in the 2019/2020 season. CSA’s intention is to continue to invest resources in transformation as they did in the past and measure impact with incentives and consequences,’ continued the statement.
On Wednesday former star batsman Hashim Amla also in an Instagram post significantly questioned the delusions of race in South Africa by complimenting Ngidi for stepping up for the cause at such a young age.
