Michael Holding has criticised England and Australia for making “lame” and “flimsy” excuses over not taking a knee for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The West Indies fast bowling legend, who argued passionately and eloquently during the summer over society and sport’s ongoing issues with racism, says international cricket teams have now disrespected the movement. England and Australia will begin their one-day international series on Friday but Holding’s words have sliced through the rhetoric and provided an embarrassing backdrop for the England and Wales Cricket Board.
England played host to West Indies as cricket resumed this summer following the lockdown but Holding says the game forgot about global race issues – highlighted by George Floyd’s death at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota – “as soon as West Indies went home”.
Players took the knee during the three Test matches in July before England became the first professional team in the UK to stop the gesture, dropping it for the Pakistan series. England then stopped wearing a Black Lives Matter logo which was designed for the West Indies matches.
Holding also told Sky Sports that the Australia captain, Aaron Finch, was unconvincing in his argument last week for not taking a knee and that politics should not be an excuse to ignore the principles of the movement.
Finch had said: “The education around it is more important than the protest. For us, we are really proud to play a game where it is celebrated all around the world and anyone can play it. It doesn’t matter what race, what religion, what nationality you are from. Cricket is a game for everyone and I am really proud about that.”
The strong, universal message of the summer and the ongoing protests initially found its way into sport with television companies, leagues and sponsors voraciously embracing the BLM movement. However, when ideas regarding a fundamental change in governance and society were aired, those messages seemed to have scared off some corporate institutions. It was confirmed on Thursday that the Premier League would drop the BLM message and instead teams will carry the slogan: “No Room For Racism” on their shirts.
“I don’t care about the politics behind Black Lives Matter. I care about those three words: black lives matter. It is time for the world to accept that black lives matter and move towards that agreement and realisation,” said Holding.
“When Pakistan and England did not make that signal the ECB came out with a lame statement. I heard nothing from Pakistan. Now Australia have come here and issued a lame statement from the captain.
“He said he and the England captain have spoken. They have decided not to take a knee. All he is saying is he is glad he is part of a sport where nobody is barred from playing because of your race, gender, ethnicity and religion. If you don’t want to recognise the movement then say that and don’t come up with lame excuses. I know that the excuses and reasons are a bit flimsy. They need to come forward with something better than that.
“What Aaron Finch’s comments said to me is that as long as sport is multi-racial then everything is OK. So if the apartheid regime in South Africa had allowed multi-racial sport but kept the apartheid laws then everything would have been OK? No it wouldn’t have.
“Education is important but you can’t just do nothing else. You have to keep the awareness going. Someone sees a person kneeling and they ask why. It keeps it going and going. The England football team have continued to do it. All over the world people are doing it. So why have the cricket team stopped? I can’t accept any flimsy excuse.
“I think people need to keep on recognising that things need to change. You can’t just do something for a week or two and think: ‘OK, I’ve done my bit.’ If that’s your attitude don’t bother doing it at all.”
Holding gave an emotional interview during the summer on race issues and his own harrowing experiences during a glittering career. His words are all the more pertinent in the wake of recent allegations of racism from Azeem Rafiq during his time with Yorkshire.
The ECB issued a statement on Thursday night, responding directly to Holding’s comments. “As an organisation we hugely respect the views of Sky Sports commentator and former West Indies international Michael Holding. Many of cricket’s teams, both domestic and international, took the knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement for their opening games, with the Men’s Test Team continuing throughout the entire series with the West Indies.
“Our response to the Black Lives Matter debate has been to view the issue alongside the whole inclusion and diversity space, to ensure that long-term and sustainable change happens for all communities who are not treated equally. We remain committed to this philosophy.
“England’s men’s and women’s players all remain committed to using their reach and influence to keep promoting inclusion and diversity in perpetuity, for the betterment of cricket and sport. We understand the importance of symbolism, and its power to keep an issue high on the agenda, our goal is to ensure we deliver both reach and change.”