Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 07:56:16 +0800
From: Jon Stratton <rstratto-AT-cc.curtin.edu.au>
Subject: Re: cricket


 If my memory serves, Jason Gillespie's claim to Aboriginality comes from
one of his grandfathers. This raises interesting, though not new, problems
about who should be identified as what. The reference to pigmentation as a
marker of 'race' is very Australian. In Australian history a -- perhaps the
-- most important signifier of 'race' has been visual. Thus, in the days of
the White Australia policy, it was not unknown for Immigration officials to
board boats with migrants on to check visually how white they were. Of
course, in the US, with its history of slavery, the identification of 'race'
has been much more anxious, and concerned with heredity. The so-called 'drop
of blood' rule is the best example of this. Thus, while, in the main,
passing has not been of great concern in Australia, in the US the
possibility that someone can pass has been the cause of much anxiety. In
Australia perhaps it is only with those of Aboriginal descent that there has
been much concern over passing. However, I do not believe that most
Australians would think of Gillespie as 'Aboriginal' because he has one
Indigenous grandparent. ... Of course, this is not to deny his validity in
self-identifying.
   In the case of Andrew Symonds, he is adopted. (Again, I speak from
memory.) His adoptive parents are 'white' and English. He, himself, was, I
think, born in England. Some years ago Symonds made the choice, along with
his parents, that he would prefer to play cricket for Australia than
England. (I pass no comment on the quality of the English cricket team in
recent years! :)) The family migrated to Australia and live now, I believe,
on the Gold Coast. Here, then, we not only have questions of 'race' being
raised but also of when a person should be able to claim national identity
for the purposes of representing a country. Again, this is not a new
phenomenon, and in Australia, and I would think most countries, all major
sports now have rules about how long a person should reside in a country
before being able to play for that country. In Australia, this rule is
particularly interesting in basketball where teams are allowed to play a
certain number of non-Australian players, and regularly bring in Americans.  
Jon   


At 01:45 AM 7/01/02 +1100, you wrote:
>> And what do you mean by 'of colour' - actual
>> physically observable pigmentation?
>> Truly, we don't see any players identifying as
>> Indigenous or even of Indigenous
>> descent, but that is not to say that there hasn't
>> been some from the latter
>> category. 
>
>Jason Gillespie does so, and is always in the current
>team but for injury. He was also captain of the
>indigenous side in Howard's "reconciliation" game last
>year. None of the other indigenous players in this
>game had achieved any sort of representative success
>as far as i can remember. 
>
>> But to focus crudely on physical appearance for a
>> moment, the Australian
>> cricketer Andrew Symonds does not look like the
>> usual 'white' Australian Test
>> Cricket player.
>
>Symonds is of West Indian background.
>
>regards
>
>Paul
>




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