Jacques Faul (Gallo Images)

• Cricket South Africa say they stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Acting CEO of Cricket South Africa Jacques Faul said it was the organisation’s duty to educate, especially with regard to all forms of discrimination.
• The organisation will further spread the message of anti-racism on Mandela Day (18 July).

Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) acting chief executive officer, Jacques Faul, says the organisation stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

In a press release sent to the media on Thursday evening, CSA stressed that the organisation was founded on the principles of non-racialism and inclusion.

He said their vision was to become a truly national sport of winners, supported by the majority, which found resonance in the ethos of the BLM movement.

The statement from CSA follows a Twitter war of words after former Proteas Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippenaar and others called out current South African fast bowler, Lungi Ngidi, over his stance on the BLM movement, which he expressed in an interview earlier in the week. 

Faul said it was important that CSA use their voice to educate and listen to others regarding discrimination.

“Black Lives Matter. It is as simple as that,” said Faul.

“As a national sporting body representing more than 56 million South Africans and with the privileged position of owning a platform as large as we do, it is of vital importance that we use our voice to educate and listen to others on topics involving all forms of discrimination.

“During our celebrations of Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July, CSA will further spread the message of anti-racism through the BLM campaign while we also speak out against all forms of violence and, in particular, the scourge that is Gender-based Violence and various other causes that are of importance to our society and the organisation,” Faul added.

FULL CSA STATEMENT

Cricket South Africa (CSA) stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

CSA was founded on the principles of non-racialism and inclusion at unity. The vision of CSA, to become a truly national sport of winners supported by the majority, finds resonance in the ethos of “Black Lives Matter”.

Our cricket development programmes have proven demonstrably that we strive to work towards the constitutional promise of a redress and equality for all.  

The organisation’s acting CEO Jacques Faul, said:

“Black Lives Matter. It is as simple as that. As a national sporting body representing more than 56 million South Africans and with the privileged position of owning a platform as large as we do, it is of vital importance that we use our voice to educate and listen to others on topics involving all forms of discrimination.

“During our celebrations of Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July, CSA will further spread the message of anti-racism through the BLM campaign while we also speak out against all forms of violence and, in particular, the scourge that is Gender-based Violence and various other causes that are of importance to our society and the organisation.”

Tabraiz Shamsi and Kagiso Rabada

• Proteas spinner Tabraiz Shamsi reckons fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will do a “great job” as captain.
• Rabada will captain Shamsi and the Kingfishers in the inaugural Solidarity Cup, which is expected to take place on 18 July.
• Shamsi revealed that he has kept up with his fitness and is eager to get back on the field.

Proteas spinner Tabraiz Shamsi believes fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will do a great job as captain for the upcoming Solidarity Cup.

Rabada will lead the Kingfishers in the inaugural tournament, which sees three teams of eight players each playing one match of two halves to determine a winner.

READ | Everything you need to know about CSA’s 3 Team Cricket

“I think we’re all leaders in our own way. KG has led the bowling attack for a number of years,” Shamsi told Sport24 in a Zoom interview on Tuesday.

“Leadership is a tag and he is somebody that thinks about the game, he doesn’t just play, there’s a lot of thought gone into everything he does. So I’m sure he is going to do a great job.”

ALSO READ | Kagiso Rabada as skipper? Solidarity Cup provides an intriguing opportunity

The Solidarity Cup is Cricket South Africa’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and introduces a complex but exciting ‘3TC’ format.

“It’s quite exciting. We haven’t played and trained for a long time so it’s going to be nice to play some cricket,” said Shamsi.

The Proteas left-arm wrist spinner has not played cricket since March but insists that he has kept his fitness up and is eager to get back on the field.

“I need to make sure I perform. I just need to make sure I’m ready for whenever we play cricket again. It might be a long time with all the fixtures being cancelled,” he said.

“I just want to make sure I contribute, that’s my motivation. I’m just training and making sure I am back to where I was in terms of the bowling game before this crisis happened.”

South African cricket fans can buy a virtual ticket of R30 and have their image on the scoreboard at SuperSport Park and enlist as a ‘Citizen Of Solidarity’.

All proceeds of The Solidarity Cup will go towards helping those in the cricket community who have suffered due to Covid-19.

Joe Marler (Getty Images)

• In March, Joe Marler was found guilty of ” grabbing, twisting or squeezing” Alun Wyn Jones’ genitals during a Six Nations game.
• The England prop was banned for 10 weeks but, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, did not serve a single game off.
• Marler said people who deemed his act to be “sexual harassment in the workplace” blew his mind but he paused to take stock of their opinions.The 29-year-old has become infamous for being a wind-up merchant in rugby circles, getting a rise out of opponents and team-mates alike.

England prop Joe Marler said his widely condemned genital grab on Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones, during a tense Six Nations game in March, was inappropriate but not sexual harassment in the workplace as some opined.

Register your interest for the British & Irish Lions tickets in South Africa 2021

Marler was speaking to Alex Payne on The Virtual Rugby Show, a weekend-long rugby dialogue with prominent British and global rugby figures in support of Lawrence Dallaglio’s Dallaglio RugbyWorks foundation.

Marler, who was hit with a 10-week suspension following the incident, which expired 7 June, said he hadn’t spoken to Wyn Jones about it since right after the incident but admitted he was wrong.

However, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Marler’s suspension meant he didn’t serve a single game out and would return to the field when the English Premiership resumed.

“We spoke when the huge storm was going off, then,” said Marler.

“I understood his position as a 140-odd capped international with some heavy gravitas in the game, the position he holds and the pressure he can sometimes be put under.

“What I did was inappropriate and wrong on that stage. The people that came out and compared it to sexual assault in the workplace completely blew my mind but I did stop for a second and take on their opinions and how they were made to feel about it all.

“They are completely entitled to their opinion and I respect that. However, I didn’t sexually assault someone in the workplace. I tickled someone’s k***, as a laugh, who I’d known for several years now, on the wrong stage, really.

“I should have probably waited for there not to be cameras around but it was a bit of a brain fart.”

The bizarre incident happened in the first half of England’s 33-30 win over Wales, where there was a lot of argy-bargy going on between the sides at scrums and confrontational areas of the pitch.

At his hearing, Marler admitted to “grabbing, twisting or squeezing” Wyn Jones’ genitalia and was found guilty.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said after the game: “There’s no place for that in the game.”

According to the 29-year-old Marler, he was trying to “have a laugh” after a series of “handbags” scuffles between the two sets of rivals.

He said: “The pushing and shoving was going on for ages. It’s not like you could have gloves off and whack each other like a goon (enforcer) in ice hockey.

“There’s all this tête-à-tête going on, again and again for ages and I just went over to have a laugh with him.”

Marler, who is capped 71 times for England, has become known as a bit of a wind-up merchant in rugby circles. In 2016 he was first banned for his “Gypsy boy” comment to Scarlets prop Samson Lee, during a Wales and England match.

That same year, he copped a two-week ban for kicking Grenoble hooker Arnaud Héguy’s head during a European Challenge Cup semi-final game between the French club and his English club Harlequins.

Although he sounded more contrite than he initially was during the immediate aftermath of the penis groping saga earlier this year, Marler admitted to getting a rise out of opponents and teammates in equal measure.

“On the field, I’ve always enjoyed winding Coley (Dan Cole) up because, as close as we are off the field as a really good mate of mine, whenever he gets on the field, he just can’t have a laugh,” he said, in part jest.

“He’s always moaning at the ref and can’t even crack a smile. [I was] not havin’ it. I do things to him at the bottom of rucks that I’d probably get banned for. But it’s always friendly.

“He just hates it when he gets wound up. Off the field, I don’t really pick on anyone. I wind everyone up until the point where they don’t want me around anymore.”

– Compiled by Sibusiso Mjikeliso