Quinton de Kock knee political Cricket SA

Photo by Isuru Sameera / Gallo Images

Quinton de Kock latest: Cricket SA blasted for ‘political interference’ over knee-gate

Cricket SA has been slammed for the late decision to make Proteas players take a knee before games, leading to conflict with Quinton de Kock.

Quinton de Kock knee political Cricket SA

Photo by Isuru Sameera / Gallo Images

Oh, to be in Quinton de Kock’s shoes right now: The Proteas star has made international headlines, for reasons that go beyond cricket. He withdrew himself from the South Africa squad to face the West Indies on Tuesday – due to a directive from Cricket SA that asked players to ‘take the knee’ before their matches at the T20 World Cup.

Why Quinton de Kock did not take the knee

SA ended up romping home to an eight-wicket victory, but little attention has been paid to the result. The fallout from de Kock’s decision to avoid playing altogether, rather than perform a gesture in support of Black Lives Matter, has been nuclear. Captain Temba Bavuma did, however, handle the post-match media interrogation with aplomb.

While the skipper said he respected de Kock’s right to an opinion, he did admit that he was ‘taken aback’ by the decision to withdraw from the matchday squad. It’s not yet clear if the glovesman will play in the Proteas’ next match on Saturday, when our lads travel to Sharjah to face Sri Lanka. A win is as good as a necessity.

FF Plus blame CSA for ‘political interference’

However, what we do know is that this storm of controversy won’t just blow over in the next few days – and the situation has drawn the ire of the FF Plus. They have accused Cricket SA of exercising ‘political interference’ over the national side, with party MP Heloise Denner fearing that knee-gate will cause ‘irreparable damage’ to South African sport.

“The Cricket SA board’s decision to compel the Protea cricket team to take a knee before every T20 World Cup match in solidarity against racism is hypocritical and amounts to gross political interference. The spirit of sport is one of reconciliation, but such political interference will once again turn sport into a vehicle for discrimination and division.”

“It is causing irreparable damage to South African sport in general and cricket in particular, so the FF Plus will send an official letter to CSA to raise its objection. CSA’s newly appointed board obviously feels like it has something to prove and is trying to score cheap political points with the Minister of Sport with this absurd directive.”