New Delhi: In an explosive revelation, former Proteas batsman Ashwell Prince has claimed that many of South African team players were racially abused during a tour to Australia in 2005.
The former South African player, however added that they were urged to continue play regardless of ‘racist incidents on the boundary’.
Ashwell’s revelations are set to sent ripples across the cricketing world, Cricket Australia in particular, as there have earlier been accused of ‘abuse & harassment’.
Team India also witnessed similar incident during a tour to Australia, with Harbhajan Singh among the victim.
Ashwell Prince unravels ‘dark secrets’
Prince, said that the South African “system was broken”, saying there has never been any unity for the decade while he was part of the national squad. “The system is broken and has been for some time in our beloved SA, both in society and in sport. We return from isolation and we say to the world, look at us, we’re back, oh, by the way, there’s still no black people who can play the game, but we brought a few along,” Prince said in a tweet.
“Some Proteas fans might have been shocked and disappointed by what they’ve read on social media this week. Truth be told, well at least for the 10 years that I’d spent there, there had never been any UNITY! Australia 2005, a number of us encountered racist incidents on the boundary,” he said in another tweet.
“When we brought this to the attention of the leadership at lunch, we were told, ‘ah it’s only some people in the crowd, not the majority, let’s get back out there’,” he added.
The system is broken and has been for some time in our beloved SA, both in society and in sport. We return from isolation and we say to the world, “look at us, we’re back, oh by the way, there’s still no black people who can play the game, but we brought a few along”
— Ashwell Prince (@ashyp_5) July 10, 2020
The incident Prince referred to occurred during the first Test of the 2005-6 tour in Perth. Prince, former pacer Makhaya Ntini and Garnett Kruger were among the players of colour in that South African team.
The 44-year-old, who played 66 Tests, 52 ODIs and one T20I for the Proteas, shared his views on the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of African-American George Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer.
Michael Holding’s ‘powerful message’ on racism in cricket
West Indies legend Michael Holding on Thursday broke down while addressing the issue of racism during an interview with Sky News’ reporter Mark Austin.
Holding took a pause as he controlled his tears, and said: “Mark, I know what my parents went through. My mother’s family stopped talking to her because her husband was too dark. I know what they went through, and that came back to me immediately,” Holding said, wiping tears from his eyes.
Well done @SkyCricket to offer time to talk about educating people on a cricket broadcast. I can see people in the comments section squirming a bit. I am smiling at the thought of educating them about colonialism and the extraordinary cruelty of some they regard as heroes!! https://t.co/7AIVJHtweA
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 8, 2020
