Hearings into racial discrimination leave blemish on face of cricket

The beautiful sport of cricket is facing yet another test in South Africa – extricating itself from the blemish caused by years of racism.

This has left many black cricket players emotionally bruised and deeply hurt. Revelations by Proteas former bowling stalwart Paul Adams on how he would be taunted by current coach Mark Boucher and former white team-mates, calling him a “brown sht”, should never be treated lightly in a country still reeling from an unfortunate past.

“I was called ‘brown sht’,” Adams told a hearing – remembering how Boucher and his buddies belted out the 1970s Boney M Brown Girl in The Ring song – attaching racial connotations in the tune to mock him.

“It often use to be sung after we won a game and it would also be sung in fines meetings. Brown sh*t in the ring, tra-la-la-la.”

With SA having emerged from a racially polarised past in which the only place reserved for blacks was that of a third class citizen, Boucher and his white team-mates were certainly insensitive of the harm caused to Adams.

There was a time during our anti-apartheid history when South Africa was declared by the international community as a pariah state, with several countries enforcing sporting and cultural boycott of this country.

From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) tightened the screws on South African sport, with Commonwealth countries playing a big part in the isolation of sports teams.

The 1977 Gleneagles Agreement was a pledge by Commonwealth governments to discourage their citizens from competing against sports people from countries where sport was organised on a racial basis.

In 1990, a rebel cricket tour of South Africa, led by Mike Gatting, which broke the international boycott of South African cricket, never escaped the wrath of protesters.

With AAM supporters picketing in 40 country cricket matches, a petition was presented to the Test and County Cricket Board and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Among many who testified at the SA hearings into racial discrimination in cricket was Titans former fast bowler Ethy Mbhalati, who told of experiencing a lot of discrimination throughout his 14-year professional career. Mbhalati’s testimony included a number of instances in which black players and white players travelled separately and were accommodated in separate hotel rooms during away games.

“It became so normal for us – the white guys would all get into their combi when we were going to games and all the black players would travel together in their own combi. We used to call ours the ‘darkie bus’.

“Sometimes, you would find that the white guys would even sit on top of their luggage in that white bus,” recalled Mbhalati.

That level of separation would include how players would seat themselves at meals.

“I would be the first player to get to breakfast, then a white player might come down too. We would be the only two people there, but he would go and sit at a separate table and wait for the other white guys to join,” said Mbhalati.

Amassing so many wickets and breaking records at the Titans franchise was no ticket for Mbhalati to make it to the Proteas. He played for the SA A team.

“When I tell a lot of people that I did not play for SA, they say I am lying. For SA A, I played against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Australia – among others. I would often be told I would play [for the Proteas] when Makhaya Ntini or Lonwabo Tsotsobe retired,” said Mbhalati during an interview with Robert Marawa.

How far we have travelled.