Given the serious predicament that CSA currently finds itself in, our cricket needs to come together in a constructive Truth and Reconciliation strategy for us to move forward, writes Alasdair Fraser.

It has been a tough couple of months for cricket fans as we wade through the mud that has been kicked up with several serious allegations and revelations coming to the fore.

While it is still early days in making a judgement or analysis, the fact of the matter is that a lot of our dark past has been ignored, which is why we find ourselves in this precarious position. There is a lot of hearsay, but we should not be surprised in the slightest.

As the late Nelson Mandela once said: “Sport has the power to unite us all” but we are more polarised than ever with highly emotive subject matter splashed all over social media. It hasn’t helped, however, that we have had no sport since late-March, and we’ve been forced to take a deep introspective look at ourselves.

As a teen growing up in 1994, I truly believed that the racial divide created by Apartheid was going to be mended and that previously disadvantaged South Africans would get the opportunities they deserved and to be treated equally. We would get through this together. I was intoxicated by the Rainbow Nation.

The dialogue, though, 26 years later is one that shows how far we are from achieving that goal of equality. In fact, it’s gotten worse and we are all in denial. Cricket in SA is broken. How naïve I was.

CSA doesn’t need a bandage for this gaping wound, they need reconstructive surgery if we are to come out of this stronger together.

The big elephant in the room has come in the form of the hornet’s nest being stoked by Alviro Petersen. The match-fixing saga has been bubbling away under the surface for a couple of years and it’s not going to disappear. Judgement was passed but clearly there is still a lot of hurt and unresolved issues.

Given that the Hansie Cronje match-fixing saga put a major long-lasting dent in our cricketing landscape – one which is still today very raw – it’s not surprising that there is still a lot of hurt and unresolved issues.

Everyone who is involved in our game needs to sit down together and come clean in an honest fashion. No agendas. No egos. Nothing. We can never go forward unless everyone puts their cards on the table to work on a common solution that is best for all South Africans in cricket. Otherwise, we will stay trapped in the past.

It is harrowing to hear the likes of key former Proteas Makhaya Ntini and Robin Peterson sharing their hurtful stories, which have been festering in their minds for decades – but it is enlightening to see them come forward and expose the dark underbelly of racism and lack of inclusiveness in our game.

READ: “THAT’S OUR GAME TOO”

Fifa has done anti-racism and Stop Racism in Football campaigns for decades, yet the likes of Mario Balotelli and Samuel Eto’o were often recipients of racial taunts and actions from European fans – often from their own supporters! Nothing has changed. You can do campaigns or get down on one knee till the cows come home. An open and honest TRC dialogue is the only solution here.

It’s a crying shame that the likes of Ntini and Petersen did not come out earlier during their playing days, however, you cannot blame them as the competitive nature of professional sportsmen is to preserve their image by not rocking the boat in order to maintain their presence in the national squad. We are talking about cricketer’s livelihoods here.

But now is the time to address all these issues with former and current people in cricket who all need to be on the same page – no egos, nothing – in working through the hurt and shame that has been a virus in our game. There will be tears, but it needs urgent attention.

Otherwise expect our cricket to be broken, racially divided, dishonest, and polarised for many decades to come. The next generation deserves better. We are the adults here. Let’s start now and lead by example.

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