Graeme Smith committed to creating an inclusive culture for Cricket in South Africa

The conversation surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement has laid bare some ugly realities about South African cricket. While the majority of the cricket players, current and past, have expressed solidarity with the public outcry, a few ex-cricketers including Pat Symcox and Boeta Dippenaar were not as gracious in their approach. However, the reality remains that despite all the awareness in the modern world about the fight against racial discrimination, there still exists a bias that is beyond the understanding of the privileged. Makhaya Ntini, one of South Africa’s all-time great fast bowlers recently voiced out his tumultuous experiences during his tenure with the national team. Graeme Smith, the current Director of Cricket South Africa and a captain under whom Ntini played a lot of his cricket, has now come out to express his support for the movement.

Graeme Smith, however, was apologetic and gracious in his tone, as he accepted that he might have been blind to the plight of coloured players during his time as the captain of the team. "I was very taken aback by Makhaya's stuff," Smith said on Friday. "In my conversations about why he ran to the ground, his explanations to me were different at the time. He never raised anything with me. Culturally, I can imagine, being the only black African from his walk of life must have been tough and maybe an awareness around that is something I didn't have.”

Speaking about Ashwell Prince’s statement that players were asked to carry on despite racial abuse from a section of the crowd while on a tour of Australia in 2005, Smith pleaded his unawareness to the matter at the time. "I was never aware, I was never made aware," Smith said. "As far as I was aware there were always channels in management, in CEO, in president's positions, but obviously players didn't feel that way. That is an awareness thing and something we have got to look back on and hopefully improve on going forward."

Smith vowed to be more conscious of the issues in a racially diverse team and expressed his commitment towards ensuring a more inclusive environment going forward. "I have considered that and thought about it. We have got to listen and be part of the solution going forward. I know Makhaya's son (Thando) is making his way through the system and it's important that no-one else feels this way going forward.”

Smith also revealed that he has spoken to Makhaya Ntini, and the two have cleared the air. "We had an open discussion, we shared, we listened and no hard feelings," Smith said. "He shared some stuff with me, I shared some stuff with him and I think that's what it's about: to be able to heat each other, talk to each other, communicate and move forward and I feel we have done that. There are certainly no issues between us."

The slogan, “Protea fire” coined in 2010, Smith believes brought the team together. "We had a real opportunity to sit and listen to different backgrounds, upbringings, people different walks of life and work that into an environment where everyone felt included.” 

[ESPNCricinfo inputs]