Lungi Ngidi, the Proteas fast bowler, has said that he hopes South African cricket expresses its support for the Black Lives Matter movement and he would happy to take the lead.
He said he hoped that the team would discuss this when they again came together as a group. Ngidi told News24: ‘It’s definitely something I believe we would be addressing as a team. And if we’re not, it’s obviously something that I would bring up. It’s something that we need to take seriously, like the rest of the world is doing. We need to make a stand.’
International cricket returned on Wednesday with the start of a Test match between England and West Indies in Southampton. Each player in the two teams is wearing a badge saying ‘Black Lives Matter’ on their collar and before the start of the match yesterday all the players on the field, and the umpires, ‘took a knee’.
Professional cricket is expected to return to South Africa on 18 July when a number of Proteas are due to play an exhibition match. The players are unlikely to wear anything on their kit expressing support for Black Lives Matter as the kit has already been made.
Said Graeme Smith, the director of cricket for Cricket South Africa and former Proteas captain: ‘We’re discussing various ways of handling it. The kit has gone to print already. We need to figure out how we can be effective about it, authentic, and spread the messages that are meaningful to us as South Africans and how it affects us on a daily basis.’
Two former Proteas players, Pat Symcox and Boeta Dippenaar, took to Facebook to criticise Ngidi. Said Symcox: What nonsense is this. He must take his own stand if he wishes. Stop trying to get the Proteas involved in his own belief.’
Dippenaar echoed this stating: ‘I am afraid to say “Black Lives Matter” have become nothing more than leftist (sic) political movement. I would suggest that Lungi Ngidi listens a bit more to likes (sic) of Thomas Sowell, Larry Elder, Walter Williams and Milton Friedman.’
Both Symcox and Dippenaar said Ngidi should raise awareness around the issues that South African farmers face.