SA celebrates 10 years of unity

Telford Vice

South African cricket will look back on more positives than negatives while celebrating 10 years of unity this weekend.

The game was divided along racial lines in South Africa before unity between the administrative bodies representing black and white players was achieved on June 29, 1991.

That paved the way for the national team's return to international action in India later that year after 22 years of isolation.

South Africa were thrown out of world cricket in 1970 as a result of the racist policies of the apartheid government, which the then whites-only electorate voted into power repeatedly from 1948 until universal franchise was implemented in 1994.

Leading figures in the game have been invited to attend a dinner at a resort in the Pilansberg, near Pretoria, on Friday, followed by an indaba (conference) on Saturday and Sunday.

"The purpose of the indaba is to reflect on the transformation process since 1991, and in particular since the National Vision Conference in 1998," the United Cricket Board said in a statement.

"Delegates will assess and audit the progress of transformation and map out strategies for a common way forward.

"... The road towards unity was a long and hard one, characterised by acrimonious meetings between former enemies focused on healing wounds and burying hatchets.

"But eventually the South African Cricket Board and the South African Cricket Union merged with a single goal of ensuring cricket would represent all South Africans."

SUCCESS

In the 10 years since unity, South Africa have enjoyed success on the field by winning 39 of the 84 Test matches they have played while losing only 15.

Of 229 one-day internationals, they have won 143 and have reached one quarter-final and two semifinals in the three World Cup tournaments they have contested.

The country has delivered some of the most exciting and universally recognised players the game has to offer, including electrifying fielder Jonty Rhodes, pace bowler Allan Donald and batsman and fielder Herschelle Gibbs.

But South Africa was also the focus of cricket's darkest days when former national captain Hansie Cronje admitted in April last year to being involved in the match-fixing scandal.

Cronje was banned from the game for life, while Gibbs and seamer Henry Williams were suspended and fined for accepting offers of bribes made to them by Cronje.

South African cricket has recovered impressively from that crippling saga, and under new captain Shaun Pollock the national team has won seven of 14 Tests and 23 of 36 one-day internationals.

But the unification process is seen in many quarters as incomplete, as shown by the racial quotas enforced in team selection at first-class level and the fact that only a sprinkling of black cricketers have played for the national side since 1991 despite an intensive development programme aimed at unearthing black talent.

"Unity in cricket will never be complete because South African society is not unified," the president of the UCB, Percy Sonn, said from Pretoria. "But we must continue on the course we have set for ourselves. We are seeing results."

"I think the UCB has done well since its birth and the teams that have represented us have done our country proud," UCB chief executive Gerald Majola was quoted as saying in the statement. "I look forward to the party on Friday night as well as to the indaba, in which we can really assess how far we have come and look ahead to where we are going."

Mail Cricket Editor