Ken Borland

Boeta Dippenaar and Pat Symcox are two former cricketers I have admired and whose company I have enjoyed from time to time, but I hope their faces are as red as tomatoes after their ill-judged reactions to Lungi Ngidi’s comments that the Proteas need to make a stand against racial discrimination.

For the record, Ngidi was asked a direct question about the Black Lives Matter movement and whether the Proteas team would seek to support it as the West Indies and England sides have done in their return to action in the Southampton Test.

Ngidi said: “It’s definitely something we need to discuss in person but we are all well aware of what is going on. It’s something we have to address as a team, as a nation as well because we’ve had racial discrimination in the past. It’s something we need to take very seriously, we need to make a stand like the rest of the world.”

Now saying a stand should be made against racial discrimination is surely not something so divisive that the Proteas would be halved into different camps for and against? Surely Ngidi was standing for something everybody can support, like being against gender-based violence?

So why the furious reaction?

It was another former Protea, top-order batsman Rudolf Steyn, who fired the first shot with a social media post that read: “I believe the Proteas should make a stand against racism, but if they stand up for ‘black lives matter’ while ignoring the way white farmers are daily being ‘slaughtered’ like animals, they have lost my vote.”

Firstly, it has to be in very poor taste to start bartering over whether you will support someone else’s right to life depending on them supporting your cause. Yes, All Lives do Matter, but in the world as a whole, the priority has to be to ensure that the importance of Black Lives are upgraded so that we no longer see the shocking, senseless deaths of people like George Floyd and Collins Khosa.

If someone told you that their father had died of a heart attack, would you say “what about all the people who have died of cancer”? If someone asked you to support research into eliminating breast cancer, would you say “only if you support anti-HIV initiatives”?

By responding to a question about Black Lives Matter, it by no means suggests Ngidi is against any other lives mattering. In fact, a furious response to Black Lives Matter suggests an attitude that they don’t matter as much as other lives.

Both Symcox and Dippenaar then replied highlighting the plight of farmers and farm attacks. Also a worthy cause.

Many critics of Black Lives Matter say it has become politicised but this is also true, perhaps even more so, of Farm Attacks. According to AfriForum’s own figures, there were 57 farm murders in 2019 and, while every one of those deaths is a tragic injustice, to somehow extrapolate that into an organised campaign of racial genocide is ridiculous. In fact, 57 murders a year is quite close to the daily figure for all murders in our terribly violent country. The Transvaalse Landbou Unie released a statement this week saying there had been 26 farm murders so far this year.

Or do some lives take priority over others? Which I guess is exactly the point of Black Lives Matter. As West Indian great Michael Holding put it this week, we all know White Lives Matter, that has never been in doubt.

Cricket in general has often been halfhearted in responding to issues of social justice so the efforts of the English and West Indian teams, and even the ICC match officials, have been tremendous to see.

I was also impressed with how Cricket South Africa’s relatively new director of cricket, Graeme Smith, handled the grenade when it was tossed to him at the same press conference as Ngidi’s. He was a huge driver of diversity and inclusivity when he was a Proteas captain, but he has not been a ‘suit’ for that long and has had a couple of mishaps already when it comes to dealing with political issues.

Smith said: “We are all very aware of what is going on around the world and our role as CSA. When the team gets together again we will figure out how to play an effective role in the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s important to have buy-in and for everyone to be invested. I have no doubt that will be the case, but to have the discussion is important. There certainly needs to be something done and we will discuss various ways of handling it in an effective and authentic manner.”

And the Titans, who have won more domestic cups than any other franchise, have also led the way in responding to the cause. The squad unanimously agreed that coach Mandla Mashimbyi should issue the following statement:

“We know only too well how important the Black Lives Matter movement is. We bat vehemently against discrimination of any kind, and we will always strive to provide opportunities within our Titans family for all the colours and cultures of our rainbow nation. We also want to lend our voice to those shouting for the scourge of violence against our mothers, sisters and daughters to stop.

“The only way we can stand against evil is by showing acts of love to people no matter their race, religion or gender. We should see love as the foundation that helps us find solutions, find refuge and hope because love is the foundation of life. If we can begin to view things through the perspective of love before race, religion or gender we will move forward as a society,” Mashimbyi said.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have had their peculiar financial arrangements exposed during the Nicholson Inquiry, but their ability to make sound cricketing decisions has now been questioned by one of the most respected players in the country.

Boeta Dippenaar retires from cricket today and, even though his feet may no longer move as assuredly as he would like, his brain remains as sharp as ever and is one of the reasons he is the president of the South African Cricketers’ Association.

Speaking in his personal capacity, Dippenaar told City Press he was concerned by CSA’s plans to include 12 teams in the franchise system instead of the current six. Instead of lifting the overall quality of domestic cricket, Dippenaar says this will weaken the game in South Africa and, as a consequence, weaken the national team.

“The domestic structure is incredibly important for the national team, but it will only reflect four or five years later.

“There are players missing out on franchise cricket and how do we make sure that those good enough to play get the opportunity? “I have no doubt that there’s place for an eighth team, but there’s no way there are enough high-quality players for 12 teams in the elite system,” Dippenaar said.

It will be up to the CSA board to vote on the 12-team suggestion. Herein lies the problem: the board comprises 11 provinces, all acting in their own narrow interests.

“If eight teams is correct, how do we get there? Griquas won’t allow North-West to have a franchise if they don’t have one and Boland won’t allow Border to have one if they don’t. It will require turkeys voting for Christmas,” Dippenaar said.

It is a problem that Australian cricket and, right now, the International Cricket Council (ICC), have wrestled with.

“When the franchise system came in here, CSA said it was what Australia were doing, but a lot of aspects were left out. We must remember that Australia has a population of about 22 million, while we have 50 million people.

“The Lord Woolf report was commissioned by the ICC and it clearly outlines that cricket’s governance is not in favour of the game but is rather a political structure.

“It’s no longer an amateur game but we have clubs electing people to run it. Does that serve the interests of the game? Anyone who can put two-and-two together can see that it doesn’t,” Dippenaar said.

For an illustration of the strength of cricket played outside the six franchises, take the example of Dippenaar’s Chevrolet Knights team-mate, Aubrey Swanepoel: He is the leading run-scorer in the CSA Provincial Challenge with 721 at an average of 72.10. But in his first three SuperSport Series innings, he managed just five runs.