Allegations of racial discrimination in South African cricket came during a month-long hearing, with one star claiming he had been decimated as a “quota player” and representing the national team was “no dream”. Another said that a modified version of the 1970s pop song “Brown Girl in the Ring” was used to call them out. What Cricket South Africa (CSA) was described as a social justice and nation building project, which started in 2020 with current fast bowler Lungi Ngidi’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Public criticism of Ngidi’s comments, including some former players, has led a group of black former international cricketers to state that they have faced discrimination during their careers.
Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, an independent ombudsman, has heard the testimony of some prominent former players, including Ashwell Prince and Paul Adams.
Prince, who scored 3,665 runs in 66 Tests at an average of 41.64, claimed that he was labeled a “quota player” and did not feel welcome in the national team.
CSA has for many years set racial “goals” to ensure diversity in the team and several players said they had to fight allegations that they were selected only because of their colour.
“You think you’re playing for your country, that you’re living a dream, but it was not a dream,” said Prince, who now coaches the Cape Cobras franchise.
Prince revealed how three fellow national team-mates used the quota issue to insult him during a franchise game, a week before he scored a Test century as an opener against Australia, Didn’t bat normally in that position though.
“We weren’t a team”
“I raised my bat for my parents, then my wife on the other side of the stadium and then, finally and reluctantly, I raised my bat for my teammates,” he said.
“If I had a choice, I would not have raised my bat in front of them. We weren’t a team.”
Prince said team management, when Gary Kirsten was coach, had rejected a request from another player of color to discuss South Africa’s history during the team’s ties weekend.
He said that if there was such a discussion, the issue of Black Lives Matter would not have been so controversial.
Adams, a spin bowler who took 134 wickets in 45 Tests, said he was referred to as “brown shit” at post-match fine meetings when teammates adopted the words of Boney M’s song “Brown Girl in the Ring”.
He said he did not initially complain, but that his girlfriend, now his wife, had pointed out that he was being racially stereotyped.
Several white former players have been mentioned during the hearing, including current coach Mark Boucher, director of cricket Graeme Smith and recently retired star batsman AB de Villiers.
Boucher has said he will respond to the allegations against him.
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