LETTER: Colour bans in cricket should set off warning bells
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SA’s racial policies have continuously brought the country closer to dissolution rather than solution. A fixation on race is the consequence of such policies and their practices, and though it goes against the grain to hear that a certain team must have a fixed percentage or number of black African cricketers, black cricketers and white cricketers, it is the bitter harvest we continue to reap.
Now, as if to rub salt in its own wounds, Cricket SA has made a commitment to the sports minister that no white consultants will be used (“Without broadcast deals, board hopefuls have nothing to bat for” (mailto://https//www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/columnists/2020-08-31-neil-manthorp-without-broadcast-deals-board-hopefuls-have-nothing-to-bat-for/), August 31). When such a ban is placed on any person solely because of his or her colour, warning bells must ring. Reason, even if its presence was minimal, has been replaced by bloody-mindedness.
A case can be made for a colour quota regarding sporting talent. Exceptional natural ability in certain sports can be seen in some youths of any colour; it is quite possible that a youngster without having come from a cricketing background could excel in the sport, and the existence of a quota may draw out such abilities and nurture them, bringing that talent to the fore. This may result in a player reaching the level of a national team.
However, regarding coaching, psychological preparation, training and general cricket know-how, it must be acknowledged that those who come from a cricketing background and who have played the game at different levels and in different settings have an expertise that is invaluable.
In the SA context it is the mostly white cricketers of past and present generations who have had the benefit of such experience, and it is this experience that should be used to coach and nurture new talent, whatever its colour.
Roger Graham
Cape Town
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Now, as if to rub salt in its own wounds, Cricket SA has made a commitment to the sports minister that no white consultants will be used (“Without broadcast deals, board hopefuls have nothing to bat for” (mailto://https//www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/columnists/2020-08-31-neil-manthorp-without-broadcast-deals-board-hopefuls-have-nothing-to-bat-for/), August 31). When such a ban is placed on any person solely because of his or her colour, warning bells must ring. Reason, even if its presence was minimal, has been replaced by bloody-mindedness.
A case can be made for a colour quota regarding sporting talent. Exceptional natural ability in certain sports can be seen in some youths of any colour; it is quite possible that a youngster without having come from a cricketing background could excel in the sport, and the existence of a quota may draw out such abilities and nurture them, bringing that talent to the fore. This may result in a player reaching the level of a national team.
However, regarding coaching, psychological preparation, training and general cricket know-how, it must be acknowledged that those who come from a cricketing background and who have played the game at different levels and in different settings have an expertise that is invaluable.
In the SA context it is the mostly white cricketers of past and present generations who have had the benefit of such experience, and it is this experience that should be used to coach and nurture new talent, whatever its colour.
Roger Graham
Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Send your letter by e-mail to letters@businesslive.co.za (mailto://letters@businesslive.co.za). Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.