South Africa wicketkeeper/batsman Quinton de Kock’s withdrawal from the team after he refused to “take the knee” overshadowed their victory over the West Indies.
The Proteas defeated the Caribbeans by eight wickets in their ICC T20 World Cup Super-12 match in Dubai on Tuesday.
Aiden Markram’s brilliant 51 runs from 26 balls as well as Rassie van der Dussen’s 43 from 51 balls saw the Proteas conclude a comfortable chase to clinch their first win of the tournament.
Earlier, all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius took 3-17 to help the Proteas restrict the hard hitting Windies to 143 in their allotted 20 overs.
But the biggest talking point of the day was the absence of De Kock - arguably the Proteas’ best batsman - due to “personal reasons.”
It was later revealed that the 28-year-old had made himself unavailable for the match as he would not take the knee, as per CSA directive.
The Mzansi cricket governing body had earlier instructed the Proteas to “adopt a consistent and united stance against racism by ‘taking the knee’ before the start of their remaining matches.”
The Proteas had divided opinion with the different postures taken by team members in support of the Black Lives Matter initiative.There had been some players, including De Kock, who had decided not to take the knee with the rest of their teammates.This, according to CSA, created “an unintended perception of disparity or lack of support for the BLM initiative.”But De Kock has no intention to take the knee, opting to rather miss out.And CSA said they would await feedback from Proteas management before considering the "next steps" to be taken regarding the incident.“CSA has noted the personal decision by South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock not to “take the knee” ahead of Tuesday’s game against the West Indies,” read a statement.“After considering all relevant issues, including the freedom of choice of players, the Board had made it clear it was imperative for the team to be seen taking a stand against racism, especially given SA’s history.“The Board’s view was that while diversity can and should find expression in many facets of daily lives, this did not apply when it came to taking a stand against racism.“The Board will await a further report from team management before deciding on the next steps. All players are expected to follow this directive for the remaining games of the World Cup.”
