Ken Borland

Ill-equipped leadership is something which really hits a nerve when it comes to South African cricket, largely due to the incompetent and self-serving Board and CEO which the game here had to labour under between 2017 and 2019.

So it was distressing this week to see the new CSA Board suffer their first mis-step, showing the same sort of reactionary leadership of their predecessors rather than the proactive management that is required of a billion rand organisation.

The Proteas have been grappling amongst themselves with issues of a new team culture for these changing times, especially since Black Lives Matter has made such a dramatic impression on the global sports environment. And the anti-racism message of that movement should hit particularly near to home due to the notorious history of our country.

Unfortunately, the team have not been able to come up with a unified response to BLM. It has not been a good look to see some of the team kneeling, others standing; some with fists raised, some with hands by their side.

But the CSA Board has failed to provide strong leadership in this regard. It’s not as if this issue has suddenly sprung upon them. How to properly acknowledge BLM has been a problem for the Proteas for more than a year. A proactive board would have known the spotlight would be on the team at a World Cup and would have ensured proper engagement was held with the squad and a solution found before the tournament. The sort of engagement that happened on Wednesday night once the crisis was already in full swing.

Instead, like a poor captain moving his field around in response to a boundary being hit, CSA chose the ham-fisted route of not consulting and issuing a directive, on the morning of a crucial game.

The national team have had their fill of arrogant administrators having the audacity to run cricket as their own fiefdoms, and the timing of the edict, and the fact that it came out of the blue without any consultation, was bound to cause some push-back.

Quinton de Kock’s initial refusal to take a knee, even though he is a product of a mixed-race family, caused near hysteria in this race-obsessed country of ours. Personally, I believe it is the right thing to take a knee for Black Lives Matter, but what worried me more about De Kock’s actions was that he was willing to leave his team in the lurch, pulling out of a crunch game two hours before the start, because he was very annoyed at being forced to make a gesture.

But many of his critics should perhaps take the beam out of their own eye before they try to remove the speck in De Kock’s eye. How many of them are anti-vaxxers? Because that is a similar issue of personal freedoms versus common good.

How many of those who viciously labelled the 28-year-old as a racist would be willing to make a gesture when it comes to protesting Farm Murders?

Because in many people’s eyes, rightly or wrongly, Black Lives Matter is as politicised an issue as Farm Murders. Just as there surely can be no moral objection to Black lives mattering, surely all farm murders are wrong?

This is where education is so important. CSA should have sat down with the players a long time ago and explained exactly what Black Lives Matter means in a South African context and what exactly the team would be supporting and protesting against should have been thrashed out and finalised.

Proteas star Quinton de Kock on Thursday morning apologised to his team-mates and South African fans for his withdrawal from the T20 World Cup match against the West Indies, but said his refusal to take the knee in support of the BLM initiative was not because he is racist, pointing out that he comes from a mixed-race home.

De Kock said his issue with being forced to take the knee was that it infringed on his own rights and the directive was imposed without any discussion with the team, on the morning of a vital World Cup game.

“For those who don’t know, I come from a mixed-race family. My half-sisters are Coloured and my step-mom is Black,” De Kock revealed in a statement. “For me, Black lives have mattered since I was born. Not just because there was an international movement.

“I was raised to understand that we all have rights, and they are important. I felt like my rights were taken away when I was told what we had to do in the way that we were told.

“We were previously told we had the choice to do what we felt we wanted to do. … I didn’t understand why I had to prove it with a gesture, when I live and learn and love people from all walks of life every day.

“When you are told what to do, with no discussion, I felt like it takes away the meaning. If I was racist, I could easily have taken the knee and lied, which is wrong and doesn’t build a better society,” De Kock said. 

De Kock criticised the CSA Board in his statement for what their directive did to the team on the morning of a crunch game. A seemingly distracted Proteas team started poorly against the West Indies, but recovered superbly to avoid a defeat which would have been their second in a row and would have made it extremely unlikely that they would qualify for the semi-finals.

De Kock revealed that the team had discussions with the Board on Wednesday night.

“Since our chat with the board last night, which was very emotional, I think we all have a better understanding of their intentions as well. I wish this had happened sooner, because what happened on match day could have been avoided.

“I was shocked that we were told on the way to an important match that there was an instruction that we had to follow, with a perceived ‘or else.’ I don’t think I was the only one.

“We have had camps … sessions … Zoom meetings. We know where we all stand. And that is together. I love every one of my team-mates, and I love nothing more than playing cricket for South Africa.

“It would have been better for everyone concerned if we had sorted this out before the tournament started. Then we could have focused on our job, to win cricket matches for our country. There always seems to be a drama when we go to World Cups. That isn’t fair,” De Kock said.

The 28-year-old ended his statement by praising Temba Bavuma for being “a flipping amazing leader” and made a plea to be allowed to play for his country again. Although he made no mention of whether he would now be willing to take a knee.

Quinton de Kock’s decision to withdraw from the Proteas team playing in a crucial T20 World Cup match in Dubai rather than obey a directive from the CSA Board that all players must take a knee in support of the BLM initiative had South African cricket in shock on Tuesday.

Fortunately the Proteas managed to regain their focus in time to beat the West Indies in impressive fashion on Tuesday and stay in contention for the semi-finals, but whether De Kock will play any further part in the tournament now depends on what the CSA Board make of whatever report is sent to them by team management.

While issuing an edict on the morning of a crucial match, when the topic of how the Proteas should show their support for BLM has been in the public discourse for more than a year now, was incredibly poor management by CSA, De Kock also left his team in the lurch by putting his own convictions, which have not been explained, above the needs of the team.

In the inflammatory environment of South African cricket, De Kock’s refusal to support BLM has caused outrage. But former Highveld Lions coach Geoff Toyana, who has a close bond with the 28-year-old, having mentored him in his formative years, said he is sure De Kock is not a racist.

“Quinny was brought up by Black coaches, there’s no way he is a racist. But to pull out of the team, at a world cup, I just don’t know what was in his mind … “ Toyana told The Citizen on Tuesday.

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma was also in a more forgiving mood after his team won, although he stressed De Kock will have to live with the consequences of his decision.

“The team heard about the directive in the morning when we were on the bus to Dubai,” Bavuma said. “It’s about a two-hour trip and I guess Quinny made his decision then, because I only found out he was not playing when we got in the changeroom.

“As a team we did not have a great deal of time to discuss things, we just had to digest what we were told. South Africa is governed by a constitution that allows guys to express their choices.

“But as much as there is freedom of choice, you can’t escape the consequences of those decisions. But he is still one of the boys and whatever shoulder or support he needs, we are there for him,” Bavuma said.

While the CSA Board directive came out of the blue given how long they have prevaricated over the BLM issue, Bavuma said the Proteas team has made peace with the fact that there are different views within the team.

“We live in a country with diverse views, the things we support are based on our own convictions and we live different lives. I’ve learnt to appreciate that a lot more.

“It has widened my perspective and I don’t expect people to see things the way I do. Which is why we have had the hard conversations, it’s through those that we learn to accept other people’s actions,” Bavuma said.

Given that the Proteas expect there to be assistance for all their bowlers and that the West Indies batsmen fared even worse than South Africa’s in their T20 World Cup opening matches, one would understand if Kagiso Rabada feels the world is their oyster as they go into their crucial encounter in Dubai on Tuesday.

While South Africa could only post a rather miserable 118-9 against Australia in Abu Dhabi, a total their admirable bowlers almost managed to defend, the West Indies batting was downright atrocious as they were bundled out for a measly 55 by England in Dubai.

Rabada cautioned, however, that the West Indies still have an explosive batting line-up that will be out for redemption after eating humble pie at the weekend.

“We know the ball will move around a bit, batting is not that free-flowing because the pitches are not flat, they offer something for the bowlers,” Rabada said on Monday.

“We expect the Dubai pitch to offer something for both pace and spin bowlers, there will be assistance, a bit of bounce, sometimes the ball stops and it can be a bit two-paced.

“So batsmen will have to really apply themselves, but the West Indies will be looking to come back really strong and we can never underestimate them. The England game is behind them and this is a completely new match.

“They are a dangerous team and it’s a new day. The West Indies are a strong, powerful team, especially in T20 cricket. So we will need to be as disciplined as we were against Australia,” Rabada said.

Having performed so very well in the field against Australia, Rabada said the Proteas are still very positive and they are confident their batsmen are able to come to the party on Tuesday.

“We bowled extremely well but it was obviously not an ideal start with the bat. But you rarely get a perfect game in both departments and Australia’s bowling outshone their batting too.

“We will have to rock up with the appropriate intensity again and we’ll need to be close to our best. There will be a lot for the bowlers to work with, but we have to apply ourselves too.

“The bowlers can’t just rock up and put the ball in a place. We have to make sure we come with the same intensity when you’re defending a low score, we have the strategy and now it’s about execution.

“We also see the batting as a concern, but it’s been addressed and they know what they have to do. But it’s just one game where we didn’t get over the line, why should we be negative? We are still very positive as a team,” Rabada said.