By Gerald Imray, Associated Press — Tuesday 26 October 2021
CAPE TOWN (AP) — Quinton de Kock refused to play in South Africa’s T20 World Cup game against West Indies on Tuesday after Cricket South Africa ordered its players to take a knee before matches in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. CSA said its board “unanimously agreed” to force players to take a knee after seeing other teams including England and West Indies take a unified position. The directive came after some South African players — de Kock, fast bowler Anrich Nortje and batsman Heinrich Klaasen — had been standing with hands by their sides before matches, while others took a knee with fists raised. CSA said the team had “created an unintended perception of disparity or lack of support” for the anti-racism movement.
De Kock’s withdrawal from the West Indies game sparked fierce debate. Former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote on Twitter: “Surely it’s down to the individual to decide whether he or she wants to be involved in any movement.” CSA Chairman Lawson Naidoo defended the policy: “Diversity can and should find expression in many facets of our daily lives, but not when it comes to taking a stand against racism.” The controversy played out against the backdrop of South African cricket’s ongoing reckoning with racism: open hearings had recently featured Black players testifying they were marginalised and sometimes victims of direct racism even after apartheid ended in 1994. Former spin bowler Paul Adams revealed he was regularly racially abused in the late 1990s in a song sung by white teammates, including current national team coach Mark Boucher, who has since apologised. In a second statement CSA said it noted de Kock’s personal decision and would decide on its next course of action after a report from team management.