Michael Holding (PA/Supplied)
- West Indian fast bowling legend said the term quotas was an extra burden on black players.
- Holding was a guest speaker at the Cricket for Social Justice and Nation-building hearings on Friday.
- Holding recently retired from commentary duties.
West Indian fast bowling legend Michael Holding said the quota term, while a necessary evil to give black players a chance, was an extra burden on them.
Using South Africa’s third-highest Test wicket-taker in Makhaya Ntini as an example, Holding said Ntini’s immense ability and fitness as a bowler was often seen as secondary because of his skin colour.
Holding, who represented the West Indies in 60 Tests and 102 ODIs between 1975 and 1987, hoped South African sports and cricket will move away from having to regulate such numbers in their teams.
Holding, who made an emotional statement about why Black Lives Matter last year ahead of the resumption of Test cricket in the United Kingdom, has penned a book called Why We Kneel How We Rise.
“I’ve heard the word use so many times in reference to South African players of colour and that they are only there because the laws or regulations say they must be there,” Holding said
“They are never given full credit for their abilities and when I spoke to Ali Bacher in 2003 during the World Cup, I suggested that it was an unnecessary burden.
“When you pick someone just because you have to have certain boxes ticked, regardless of whether that person is good or not, they’re carrying an extra burden because there will always be people who’ll say the person is there because of regulations allowing them.
“That was a burden Makhaya Ntini carried throughout his career and I understand why things were done that way because of the need to have a fully representative team and people are in a hurry to see that.
“I suspect that people think that if it’s not regulated, it will happen very slowly and they want to see it happen a bit quicker. I hope at some point, it won’t be necessary to stipulate or regulate things like that.”
The key to transformation is the development and maintenance of facilities that aren’t in suburban areas.
READ HERE | Windies legend Michael Holding on taking the knee: Kneeling isn’t a racist or political movement
Holding, who was the guest speaker at the Cricket for Social Justice and Nation-building hearings on Friday, said organic development for players in their own comfort zone will allow for the cream to rise to the top.
“I don’t like the idea of scouts going into villages, handpicking people and taking them out of their comfort zone and putting them somewhere else for them to try and develop,” Holding said.
“I would like to see the development process start from wherever that person is from. Go there and put the infrastructure in place so that everyone from that area and surrounding parts gets the same opportunity.
“In that way, the cream will eventually rise to the top because by taking them out of their comfort zones, you’re hoping that they develop.”
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