Liam Norkie
Task 3
Katelyne Van Den Bergh 

In this review, I will look at cricket as a sport and how apartheid impacted players of colour in terms of facilities, coaching, and opportunities, as opposed to how it appears in the post-apartheid era. My interviewee is my father, George Norkie, who played cricket from the time he was in high school until he graduated from college. Listening to him reflect on his playing days versus when I played high school cricket, there are many obvious differences.

In South Africa, economic circumstances affected access to sport, resulting in it being difficult for the majority of non-white people to gain access to good sports facilities, the majority of which were in white areas. Apartheid's legacy had denied townships of sports facilities, and if some were present, it had inadequate resources. An educator from a coloured Cape Town township confirmed the lack of facilities, calling her institution's sports facilities "almost non-existent." According to her, "Aside from the patch of grass, we had a tarmac area where we played netball and a cricket pitch where the guys played. The cost of maintaining other sports were extremely expensive, and we could not manage them. We would never have sufficient equipment with which we could practice skills with”. Obviously, apartheid's legacy impeded certain groups' opportunity to participate in sport, and sport couldn't really develop dramatically until ideological, sociocultural, and economic circumstances changed, notably for the non-white population. (Chappell, n.d.)

In South Africa, economic circumstances affected access to sport, resulting in it being difficult for the majority of non-white people to gain access to good sports facilities, the majority of which were in white areas. Apartheid's legacy had denied townships of sports facilities, and if some were present, it had inadequate resources. An educator from a coloured Cape Town township confirmed the lack of facilities, calling her institution's sports facilities "almost non-existent." According to her, "Aside from the patch of grass, we had a tarmac area where we played netball and a cricket pitch where the guys played. The cost of maintaining other sports were extremely expensive, and we could not manage them. We would never have sufficient equipment with which we could practice skills with”. Obviously, apartheid's legacy impeded certain groups' opportunity to participate in sport, and sport couldn't really develop dramatically until ideological, sociocultural, and economic circumstances changed, notably for the non-white population. (Chappell, n.d.)

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Like many other players of colour, my interviewee believed that the sports field was the one place where players from different cultural, social and economic backgrounds could come together to showcase their passion and sporting abilities. Unfortunately for them this could not be done due to the restrictive laws imposed by the apartheid government. It meant that for these scholars, succeeding in their chosen sport would mean obtaining provincial colours and then playing in an annual tournament against other non-white players from the other provinces. The highest accolade for these players would be obtaining the SASSA (South African School Sports Association) colours. This would effectively be the be all and end all of their cricketing season with no opportunity to compete against any other nation. Even with the onset of the post-apartheid era, participation at the highest level in cricket is determined by the school the player attends.

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The basis of a solid national team should be laid at the foundation level, which is school-level cricket. Many sports in South Africa are still categorised based on financial status and social standing. As a result, it is essential to look into the development of cricketers from the school level to the national squad. To ascertain whether male cricketers have a superior chance of being selected for South Africa if they attended a private or boys-only school, it is necessary to look into South African cricket's feeder system from school level cricket to national level. A study found that 65% of the 119 South African players who represented the country at world cups between 1992 and 2019 attended boys-only schools. Furthermore, 24 of the national school’s team's 26 captains went to an all-boys school. Only about 50 of the approximately 6,000 high schools nationally produce national cricketers. As a result, thousands of schools continue to face challenges to produce similar cricket stars. The reason is straightforward: there is a lack of basic infrastructure, such as restrooms and running water, as well as sports fields. 

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The basis of a solid national team should be laid at the foundation level, which is school-level cricket. Many sports in South Africa are still categorised based on financial status and social standing. As a result, it is essential to look into the development of cricketers from the school level to the national squad. To ascertain whether male cricketers have a superior chance of being selected for South Africa if they attended a private or boys-only school, it is necessary to look into South African cricket's feeder system from school level cricket to national level. A study found that 65% of the 119 South African players who represented the country at world cups between 1992 and 2019 attended boys-only schools. Furthermore, 24 of the national school’s team's 26 captains went to an all-boys school. Only about 50 of the approximately 6,000 high schools nationally produce national cricketers. As a result, thousands of schools continue to face challenges to produce similar cricket stars. The reason is straightforward: there is a lack of basic infrastructure, such as restrooms and running water, as well as sports fields. 

. There are few coaches, and no long-term sporting culture exists. Between 1992 and 2019, 78 of the country's 119 cricketers who competed in world cups attended a boys-only school, making up for 65% of the total. Likewise, 61.4% of South African test match players attended a boys-only school during that time frame. In one-day international cricket, it is 59%. Between 2005 and 2019, 53.7% of T20 cricketers attended a boys-only school, compared to 46.3% who attended co-ed public schools. Between 1994 and 2019, 24 of the national school’s team's 26 captains attended all-boys schools. This implies that co-ed public schools are not the preferred or best feeder system for South African school cricket captains. Almost all of the top batsmen in the country attended all-boys schools. A large number of bowlers were able to attend co-ed schools. Boys-only schools are a major factor in South Africa's ability to compete at the highest level in men's cricket.

The level of talent, the number of students at the school, and the coaching standards are all important factors to consider. Given the history of South Africa, race and class are important considerations. There was not a single player from a township or rural area who went on to represent South Africa. Elite, boys-only schools proceed to be the desired and ideal distribution system for cricket at the top level in South Africa. (Noorbhai, 2020)

Cricket players, like athletes in other sports, are required to wear protective equipment to ensure their safety during the game. Batsmen and wicket keepers typically wear an abdomen guard, also recognized as a cup, box to safeguard themselves from the impact of the ball hitting the body. Leg pads are worn by batters and wicket keepers to protect their shins, and fielders stationed near the batsmen may also wear leg pads. Batsmen and fielders also wear helmets to protect their heads from the incoming ball. Wicket keepers also wear eye protection to safeguard their eyes, as the impact of the ball hitting the wicket can be substantial, and bails could become dislodged as a consequence.

Batsmen wear protective gloves that are clearly distinguishable from wicket keepers' gloves. Unlike thinner wicket keeper gloves, these would be thickly padded on the tops of all five fingers.(Equipment required for Cricket, n.d.) Speaking to my interviewee regarding the aforementioned safety precautions , he laughed at most of it by recalling that they did not have sufficient equipment at school which meant 4 batsmen would pad up at the same time using the only two pairs of pads the school had with each batsmen only donning a pad on the leg he uses to step towards the ball. Similarly, only one hand was gloved leaving the batsmen prone to injury. There were no helmets and one had to be brave when stepping out to bat. He remembers when he was hit on the hip by a very fast paced delivery which saw him fling the bat at the bowler and he had to be restrained by the teachers umpiring the match. In light of the necessary safety equipment needed and these players did not have, one can say that they were truly passionate or perhaps very brave to play under such unsafe conditions.

Batsmen wear protective gloves that are clearly distinguishable from wicket keepers' gloves. Unlike thinner wicket keeper gloves, these would be thickly padded on the tops of all five fingers.(Equipment required for Cricket, n.d.) Speaking to my interviewee regarding the aforementioned safety precautions , he laughed at most of it by recalling that they did not have sufficient equipment at school which meant 4 batsmen would pad up at the same time using the only two pairs of pads the school had with each batsmen only donning a pad on the leg he uses to step towards the ball. Similarly, only one hand was gloved leaving the batsmen prone to injury. There were no helmets and one had to be brave when stepping out to bat. He remembers when he was hit on the hip by a very fast paced delivery which saw him fling the bat at the bowler and he had to be restrained by the teachers umpiring the match. In light of the necessary safety equipment needed and these players did not have, one can say that they were truly passionate or perhaps very brave to play under such unsafe conditions.

When it comes to coaching, my interviewee mentioned that they had one coach for most of the sporting codes offered at school and this was usually the physical education teacher. The level of coaching has progressed tremendously over the years with a lot of emphasis being placed on school coaches getting accredited. Gary Kirsten, a former national player and coach had this message for cricket coaches at school level, the significance of the coaching team learning as much about coaching and team building cannot be overemphasised. The holistic development of each and every player with whom we work collaboratively is at stake.