SOUTH AFRICA are taking on West Indies without key man Quinton de Kock.
The opener did play against Australia in their first match of the T20 World Cup and choose to remain standing while most of the team took the knee.
And South Africa have since adopted a protocol requiring all their players to perform the gesture during the T20 World Cup.
Why is Quinton de Kock not playing for South Africa?
In his interview before the match started, Proteas captain Temba Bavuma said: “Quinny is out and Reeza [Hendricks] is in. He [De Kock] has made himself unavailable for personal reasons.”
It is not known what those reasons are, but what is known is that South Africa announced a new directive the evening before the match requiring players to take the knee.
CSA later confirmed de Kock refused to take a knee.
A statement said: “CSA has noted the personal decision by South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock not to ‘take the knee’ ahead of the game against West Indies.
“All players had been required, in line with a directive of the CSA Board, to ‘take the knee’ in a united and consistent stance against racism.
“The Board’s view was that, while diversity can and should find expression in many facets of daily lives, this did not apply when it came to taking a stand against racism.
“The Board will await a further report from team management before deciding on the next steps.
“All players are expected to follow this directive for the remaining games of the World Cup.
“CSA thanks all other Proteas players for agreeing to unite and make such an important public stand against racism.”
Why are South Africa requiring players to take the knee?
Cricket South Africa said the country’s history makes it paramount that all its players adopt a “united and consistent stance against racism”.
“The CSA Board unanimously agreed to issue a directive requiring all Proteas players to adopt a consistent and united stance against racism by ‘taking the knee’ prior to the start of their remaining World Cup matches.
“Concerns were raised that the different postures taken by team members in support of the BLM initiative created an unintended perception of disparity or lack of support for the initiative.
“After considering all relevant issues, including the position of the players, the Board felt that it was imperative for the team to be seen taking a united and consistent stand against racism, especially given SA’s history.
“Several other teams at the World Cup have adopted a consistent stance against the issue, and the Board felt it is time for all SA players to do the same.”
CSA board member Lawson Naidoo added: “A commitment to overcoming racism is the glue that should unite, bind and strengthen us. Race should not be manipulated to amplify our weaknesses.
“Diversity can and should find expression in many facets of our daily lives, but not when it comes to taking a stand against racism.”
“South Africans were recently joined by people across the world in celebrating the 90th birthday of our revered Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
“What better tribute from the Proteas to an icon of the struggle for freedom in South Africa than to demonstrate we are working to fulfil his vision of a united South Africa.”
Why does Quinton de Kock not take the knee?
Quinton de Kock has said in June that his decision not to take the knee is a “personal choice”.
He commented: “I’ll keep my reasons to myself and it is my own personal opinion.
“Like Lungi [Ngidi] said, it is everyone’s decision and no one is forced to do something and that’s the way I see things.”
When will Quinton de Kock return?
As the exact reason why Quinton de Kock made himself unavailable to play has yet to be confirmed, it is difficult to put a date on his potential return.
However, the CSA statement released during the match suggests he won’t feature again in the T20 World Cup unless he chooses to take the knee.
