From: "Greg Ratcliffe" <gratclif-AT-ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Re: cricket
Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2002 20:40:07 +1100


The first Australian 'touring side' - probably before test cricket began (?) -
was an all-Indigenous team. This was in the late 1800s. If memory serves
correctly, they beat the English.

Since then of course, it has mostly been 'white' Australians. However the
absence of Indigenous players has not gone unnoticed. The Don either bequeathed
some money or instituted some body to encourage Indigenous children to take up
the sport. I think the cricketing body also runs training camps, and organises
competitions for Indigenous kids.

RE quotas: I think they are a necessary evil. How do you include a 'coloured'
player in a team without racially categorising people?

It is argued by opponents of this kind of affirmative action that compulsorily
including a player means going into the field with a weak team. It may well be
that these 'coloured' players are not up to the standard of 'white' players
because racism has denied them the opportunities that the 'white' players have
had. Going into competition with a 'weak' team - as a result of quotas - is a
fair reward for racist policies.

I suspect that a  further result of quotas will see cricketing organisations
throwing bundles of money into improving the skills of Indigenous players ie
providing them with equal opportunities.

(See below regarding controversy over Ontong's inclusion in the SA team)

greg


Players urged to revolt
By JON PIERIK
January 05, 2002

FORMER South African captain Clive Rice has called on the Proteas to revolt
against the country's cricket board in wake of the controversial decision to
play Justin Ontong in the third Test against Australia at the SCG.


United Cricket Board of South Africa president Percy Sonn over-ruled a decision
by the tour selectors on the eve of the Sydney Test to play Jacques Rudolph.

He demanded that black allrounder Ontong be picked ahead of white top-order
specialist Rudolph in the No. 6 position.

"It's a very unsatisfactory situation that exists in our cricket at the moment
as politicians are running the game," Rice said. "The players must get together
and revolt."

South African selectors are obliged to choose a team on merit but have a policy
of including at least one player of colour. Provincial teams have to include at
least three.

Opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs was the only coloured player originally chosen
for the match but Sonn argued moving top-order players down the order excluded
Ontong.

"I did intervene on a matter of policy and that right is invested in me as
president," Sonn said.

"If you look at our transformation charter  . . .  it says if there are people
of colour, who have previously been disadvantaged, we must ensure that those
people get those opportunities.

"But the other policy says that if there is an opportunity for a person of
colour to represent his country then we must make sure that he does get that
opportunity. "

Rice coaches English county Nottinghamshire and has played a key role in
bringing South African players, several of whom are disillusioned with
provincial quotas, into county cricket.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Salil Tripathi" <salil61-AT-hotmail.com>
To: <postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 7:54 PM
Subject: Re: cricket


|
| Sudeep, Qadri:
|
| I believe sports teams are an example of quotas not being necessary. It is a
| difficult question for South Africa, though, where the population
| polarization is so acute that English-speaking SAfricans prefer cricket,
| Afrikaans-speaking SAfricans seem to prefer rugby, and the black majority
| prefers soccer. Integrating population would indeed be a desirable goal. But
| I doubt if quotas are the way forward: in many teams, race has in fact not
| been a barrier for inclusion. The English have Hussain, Butcher and
| Ramprakash; the New Zealand team had a deepak Patel,if I recall correctly.
| West Indies has had whites and Indians. And the best Indian teams have had a
| multiethnic mix that reveals India's diversity at its best: Roger Binny,
| Farokh Engineer, Pataudi, Bishen Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar from an earlier
| time; these days it is Conner Williams, Z Khan, Harbhajan Singh, and Sachin
| Tendulkar. In fact, I believe Australia is the only country which has not
| had a cricketer of color playing for the country, unless Whatmore is counted
| as one--can anyone throw some light on this?
|
| I had posted the following piece I wrote during the Christmas break -- if
| you had your mailers turned off, I send it again -- I agree, Eden Gardens
| should replace the Lord's as the game's HQ......
|
| Salil
| ------
|





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