The Stain on the beautiful game

In a perfect world, cricket is a sport of mutual respect and understanding between people, irregradless of race, gender, culture, ethnicity or religion. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. We live in a flawed society. And cricket does not function in isolation from society. If anything, cricket is a representation and reflection of society.

So, what stain am I referring to?

Racism. Racism exists in society, hence, it exists in cricket and sports as a whole. We cannot avoid it, we cannot hide away from it, we cannot ignore it. We have to face it and dismantle it. The longer we ignore it, the worse it becomes. Racism in cricket has always existed, but with the global rise of the Black Lives Matter movement which began in 2020, the issue of racism in cricket has been brought into the spotlight, rightfully so.

In the recently concluded India v Australia test series, two Indian bowlers, namely Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, were racially abused by a group of Australian fans in the stadium (SCG) . Mohammed Siraj was very visibly upset and the Indian team expressed their concern to the umpires, after which the "fans" were escorted out of the stadium by security. I put "fans" in inverted commas because I believe that anyone who cannot respect the diversity of the game, is not a true cricket fan.

And it is most certainly NOT a problem exclusive to Australia and Australian fans, it is a global problem. In 2019, England bowler Jofra Archer was racially abused by a group of New Zealand fans at Mount Maunganui. In 2019, Andile Phehlukwayo was referred to as "Kaley" by Pakistan former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Hashim Amla and Moeen Ali, who are both Muslim, have been referred to as "terrorist" and "Osama" respectively. The prejudice runs deep.

Being a South African, issues of racism and racial predujice always touch me deeper, considering the history of South Africa. Whenever a black South African underperforms, he or she is referred to as a "quota" player, and is "not worthy" of the badge. I will not today delve into the quota system, as that would take me all day! However, what I will say, is that the damage caused to our cricket by the Apartheid system is beyond extensive, and the current administrators are power hungry and have not invested themselves into improving cricket for all South Africans.

Last year in an interview, former South African fast bowler, Makhaya Ntini, opened up about his experiences in playing for the Proteas. My heart was broken when he said that he felt isolated by the team. Isolated to such an extent, that he would choose to jog to the stadium rather than take the bus.

Racism is a global problem, and I am sure we all agree with that by now. We cannot single out a certain group of people or a certain country for being racist. It is a global problem. As human beings and as fans, we NEED to take a stand. We need to call out racism and prejudice and any form of hate. We need to be socially aware, and morally aware. We cannot now choose to be ignorant and arrogant.

Listen, converse, UNDERSTAND. If someone says they have been racially abused, LISTEN. Do not dismiss them. Listen to understand, empathise. Don't listen to argue and fight. Understand history, understand it's impact, understand lived experiences.

Racism will not disappear through the introduction of laws and policies, racism can only be dismantled through us, the people. The ICC can implement 1008392910 anti-racism policies if they like, but it won't change the mindset of people.

Always remember "If you choose to remain silent in time of great moral crsis, you have chosen the side of the oppressor".