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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday, January 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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South African apartheid govt’s secret cricket plan revealed Indian hockey has promises to fulfil Beyond aces & smashes
TEEING-OFF
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South African apartheid govt’s secret cricket plan revealed Details of a secret plan by South Africa’s white minority apartheid government three decades ago to counter international opposition to its participation in world cricket have been revealed. The revelations that the then government had considered including two black players in the squad for an Australian tour to counter international isolation come in the wake of the race quota debacle currently plaguing South Africa. Leading South African cricket figures of the time, including then captain of the all-white national side, Ali Bacher, confirmed details of plans to include two black players on the tour in an attempt by the government to avoid the country’s isolation. The plan failed when the two players identified refused to be part of the plan. The Australian National Archives this week released a cabinet document that had been kept secret until now. It came even as United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) president Percy Sonn used his veto to change the selected side in the final Test in Sydney, which ended with defeat for the touring South Africans and ended the series 3-0. Sonn’s decision to replace a promising white member of the team with a coloured player has resulted in a serious race crisis in South Africa. Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour has criticised former white players who have spoken out against the race quota introduced in cricket in support of government attempts to redress the wrongs of the apartheid era, when only whites were selected for national teams. Even local and schools cricket was segregated on racial lines by forced apartheid legislation. In 1971, then all-white South African Cricket Association (SACA) president Jack Cheetham suggested two black players be included in the tour to Australia. But the government immediately rejected the plan and even anti-apartheid lobbyists who were fighting for non-racial sport at the time rejected it as tokenism. Bacher would have led a side that included Graeme Pollock and Clive Rice, two of the former players who are currently under serious fire from Balfour, who has accused them of inciting racial segregation again. Rice, who was asked to pack his bags and leave South Africa by the sports ministry if he was unhappy about the system, has threatened to take Balfour to court. The authenticity of the Australian document has been verified by Mogamad Allie, who authored a book on the history of black cricket in South Africa. In the book, “More Than A Game,” Allie tells how Cheetham had approached, through intermediaries, leading black all-rounder Dik Abed and left-arm spinner Owen Williams to join the Australian tour. The two players approached Hassan Howa, who was then president of the South African Cricket Board of Control. This board controlled cricket among black communities in South Africa and eventually merged with SACA to become the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA). Howa also rejected the plan. Abed, who now lives in Holland, was at the time regarded as one of South Africa’s best players and was forced to leave the country of his birth to play for more than a decade in the Lancashire league in England. Williams had to do the same to further his career, and was noted for bowling a hat trick in one of his first county games after arriving in England. “We made it clear that we were not prepared to be used for window-dressing purposes in order to save the tour,” Abed said in the book. “I refuse to go as a glorified baggage master. I wanted to be chosen on merit having proved myself at club and provincial levels against the best in the country,” Williams also said in the book. “If the tour of Australia goes on, it would put back our cause (for getting non-racial cricket in South Africa) many years. For god’s sake, ban them, make them feel as we are made to feel every day of our lives unwanted,” said an emotional Williams at the time. Observers here say if people like Williams and Abed had been allowed to play in a desegregated cricket environment in South Africa, there would have been no need today for the quotas that are causing the controversy at present. Years of exclusion from the international cricket environment, lack of equal facilities, and unequal financial support and sponsorship resulted in the black community being severely disadvantaged. It is this disparity that the UCBSA is trying to correct through its quota system. The challenge to the system, which is being blamed for the kind of humiliating defeat that the South Africans have suffered in Australia, has come mainly from former white cricketers. The issue is set to be a major on the South African cricket agenda in coming weeks.
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Indian hockey has promises to fulfil Indian hockey has had a year where success for the junior team has been somewhat tempered by a rather mixed showing from the senior lot. The juniors won the World Cup at Hobart with a thumping win over Argentina in the final. The margin of victory, six goals to one, was by any standards an outstanding achievement if also at the same time disbelieving considering the fact that it was done by an Indian team normally prone to be shy at scoring. This year India’s elite will be involved in three major competitions. The World Cup in Kuala Lumpur next month is the first test. Then comes the regional competition, the Asian Games where India are the title holders and this will be followed by the Champions Trophy to be held in Germany. Immediately after the Champions Challenge victory the cry went up — India will win the World Cup. Coach D’Souza added his personal opinion to that. “We were always among the top six teams.” It is now up to him and his boys to fulfil that promise. That victory in the junior World Cup was a shot in the arm for Indian hockey and at the same time served notice to the senior team which had mixed fortunes in its various efforts to impress on the international scene. One poor game against Poland at the Sydney Olympics had dashed all hopes of a semifinal entry and the team did not inspire confidence at all in the World Cup qualifying at Edinburgh where it was the last combination to make the grade after a dismal run where even a team like Wales questioned its credentials as a hockey power. This was perhaps one of the worst ever shows by an Indian team in recent years. That India qualified was more because of the expanded format of the World Cup. The subterfuge offered then was that the team had nine juniors and senior players like Pillay, Mukesh Kumar and Sabu Varkey were missing. Inducting juniors is an investment for the future and one must remember that the team that did duty in the Champions Challenge Tournament in Kuala Lumpur also contained a large chunk of juniors. And here the team finally won the title and with it the right to play with and among the top six teams of the world. Perhaps the showing may have been a little better had both Dilip Tirkey and Baljit Saini accompanied the team. The two players were on the injured list. The expectation after the junior World Cup and the Champions Challenge Tournament is rather high. Next month India go back to Kuala Lumpur, the city where it made its biggest bang by winning the World Cup in 1974, to make another bid at the biggest hockey tournament of the world. And it will have to live up the reputation it has now acquired. No matter how good the team is it must, however, be remembered that hockey is no longer a monopoly of any particular country though Australia could well claim to be the best team around for over 10 years. But then though they have won the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, they have never won an Olympic title. They had one of the easiest chances when they met New Zealand in the final of the Montreal Games in 1976, Shockingly they lost. It is a defeat which will rankle long with Australia. New Zealand have found it difficult to make it to the Olympics after that one memorable title win, having lost its chance to defend it by joining the western countries boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980. As coach Cedric D’Souza rightly says, the disparity among the teams has diminished and almost any of the teams that played in the Champions Challenge Tournament — India, Argentina, Malaysia or even Japan — are capable of upsetting the top teams. And he quoted Malaysia’s 3-3 and 2-2 scores with Holland and Pakistan, respectively, and the 0-1 defeat at the hands of Germany in the Sydney Olympics as proof of the narrowing gap. Those three fine performances notwithstanding, Malaysia finished 11th. Agreed but where does it leave India. It has the potential to do very well but it is still a team in the making. The juniors have to settle down in the senior ranks. They may have adjusted with some of the seniors for an India team but how will they perform while facing the best of the lot from other teams.? The transition from juniors to seniors takes some time. We must not allow ourselves to be carried away by rhetoric. Our perceptions must be balanced. Cedric D’Souza says that there is scope for improvement in midfield play and that we must also have to improve a lot in defence and attack. In other words we have to improve in every aspect of the game. What else? India have the capacity to do well and should perform creditably in the World Cup, retain the Asian Games title at Pusan later in the year and prove that they are worthy to be part of the Champions Trophy once again. So far, India’s record among the elite teams is very poor. One hopes it will change now and the team will fulfil the promises made last year. |
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Beyond aces & smashes There was lots more to the Tata Open tennis championship at Chennai than winning aces and unplayable smashes. There was love, glamour, charity, showmanship, filial bonding and even calls for peace during the tournament. Argentina’s top-seed and eventual winner Guillermo Canas showed off his game from the very start at Nungambakkam stadium, but high-profile Indian sports celebrities stole the show at the Tata group’s Taj Coromandel hotel, where the players stayed. Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, India’s French Open and Wimbledon-winning doubles pair, had a mixed bag of successes and failures on the first few days on court. However, more people were interested in seeing Paes with his girlfriend, Bollywood actress Mahima Chowdhry, who was liberal with autograph seekers. And as many were curious to see Bhupathi’s fiancée, fashion model Shveta Jaishankar, who was his dance partner at the Tata ball at the Taj. On the sidelines of the tournament took place a charity auction with the proceeds going to Shankar Netralaya, a renowned local eye hospital, a ball, a fashion parade with Wendell Rodericks displaying wafting whites, blues and beiges, and several family get-togethers, especially for Amritrajs, who dominate Chennai’s tennis scenario. Eighteen-year-old Prakash Amritraj made his debut on centre court, playing doubles with Mushtafa Ghous. Two elder generations of the Amritraj family watched. Grandparents Robert and Maggie, father Vijay and uncle Anand were there to applaud, and even criticise, but Los Angeles child Prakash was unfazed. Vijay said: “I always knew my son would be a tennis player.” But Prakash insisted: “Don’t compare me with my father. He was a great player. I am a normal tennis player.” “It is a dream come true for me to play before my family in our home city,” Prakash added. A doubles match against Vijay and Anand Amritraj was auctioned, the proceeds again going to Shankar Netralaya. Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj, the third brother, was talking of his latest production, “Bandit,” due to be released in India this March. Bruce Willis and Kate Blanchett are its stars and it has been released in more than 3,000 theatres in the USA. “A $100 million” is what Ashok estimates his film will gross. But, after Jeans failed despite featuring former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, Ashok is not in a hurry to attempt another such film for India. And the eternal showman Vijay Amritraj was seen caparisoning around the stadium on a bejewelled elephant. Behind him was seated Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev. Both men and their mount sported golden headgear. The two greats of Indian sports took the opportunity to deliver messages of peace. “Let us pray for peace. Let us make this a better world to live in,” said Vijay, a UN Messenger of Peace. Kapil told the crowd: “We sportsmen, whichever game we play, want peace. It is a beautiful world. Let us enjoy it.” Among other families that drew attention were hockey Olympian Vece Paes and his star son Leander. Then there were the Krishnans, who have given India two tennis champions, Ramanathan and his son Ramesh.
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TEEING-OFF The Delhi Golf Club’s extraordinary general meeting on Saturday, January 12, 2002, is expected to be stormy one. There are two schools of thought. One section is in favour of change of lease terms while another is vehemently opposed to it. The existing lease terms, signed in 1996, are valid until 2010. If the resolution, signed by more than 100 members, is thrown away, the club will be open to offer membership to 125 government officials. These officials, ‘bestowed’ membership out-of-turn, will be exempted from paying entrance fee. To enrol so many government officials suicidal for the club, which is facing financial problems. There are several reasons. Two among them are: loss of huge revenue amounting to more than Rs 1 crore and over-burdening the course, which has already reached saturation point. Golf is no longer a pastime. It is a highly competitive discipline requiring a lot of skill, ability and mental toughness. Recently, a 13-year-old schoolboy, Jae An from New Zealand qualified for the national open PGA event. This is because he has been provided sufficient exposure to nurture his talent. The need of the day is to offer facilities to promising youngsters, who can bring laurels to the club and the country. There is no point in admitting ‘free-loaders’ who play to recreate themselves instead of promoting golf, which is fast becoming one of the most popular disciplines in the country. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has developed a course at Lado Sarai. It will soon be an 18-hole course. The government officials, interested in golf, should seek membership here instead of over-crowding the DGC, which is one of the most prestigious clubs in the country. Had the first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, not intervened, the club would not have existed and there would have been a housing complex instead. Mukesh does it again Mukesh Kumar, a caddy-turned-pro from Mhow did it again. He retained the ‘Mahindra Champion Golfer of the Year’s award and pocketed Rs 8,50,000. He amassed 347.50 points from 22 tournaments in the years 2000-2001. He earned in all Rs 13.01 lakh. He bagged four titles and made the cut in the remaining 18 competitions. There was a touch and go between Mukesh Kumar and Vijay Kumar. He steadied his nerves at crucial moments and that saw him retain the title. Happy of course he was in winning the title again but he was all praise for his three rivals — Vijay Kumar, Shiv Prakash and Feroz Ali. He is now all keyed up to make a hat-trick of titles which, according to experts, is not out of his reach. Mukesh, 35, will now be playing in the Asian tour for five years. He is concentrating on improving his swing. If he improves his driving, he will be able to return better cards since his short game is quite consistent. Inderajit Bhalotia (Kolkata) won the Mahindra putter award, while Rahul Ganapathy (Mysore) got the rookie award.
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Kudos to Aussies for series win Kudos to Australia who demolished South Africa in the Test series. They recorded a comprehensive whitewash for the first time since 1931-32. The series proved to be one-sided bringing to the fore a wide gap existing between the two sides ranked first and second in the world. Australia ruthlessly inflicted heavy defeats on South Africa in all the Tests. The batting exploits of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer were amazing. The duo’s fourth double century stand in the third Test, made them Australian cricket’s greatest opening pair. TARSEM S. BUMRAH II Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh and his team-mates deserve heartiest congratulations for winning the Test series against South Africa by 3-0. Although South Africa were a powerful team yet they surrendered and were beaten in all departments of the game. Really the Australians have proved their superiority and can be described as the best team in the world. SUBHASH C. TANEJA Football win Kudos to the Punjab soccer lads for winning the under-21 National Football Championship at Jodhpur. They have given another boost to soccer in the state by emulating their seniors who recently won the gold in the National Games at Ludhiana. This victory has once again proved that Punjab are second to none in football. Surely these youngsters deserve handsome rewards for bringing laurels to the state. The soccer eves of Punjab also proved their grit by winning the silver in the National Games. Obviously, football deserves special attention from the Punjab Government and the Punjab Football Association. It is not the talent which is lacking but organisational skill and management. G.S.
JAIDKA
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