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West Indies nice Michael Holding has criticised England and Australia for opting to not take a knee in assist of the marketing campaign to battle racial injustice, accusing them of constructing “lame” excuses. Holding, who performed within the nice West Indian sides of the 1970s and 1980s, in July recalled ugly incidents he skilled as a younger cricketer on his visits to Australia and England. The former paceman spoke about how significant change was wanted following the dying of George Floyd in police custody within the United States, which sparked a wave of protests throughout the globe.
England and West Indies cricketers took a knee firstly of every of their three Tests in July.
The observe was repeated throughout England’s one-day worldwide sequence in opposition to Ireland however not in subsequent sequence in opposition to Pakistan and Australia.
England and Australia are enjoying one another in a three-match ODI sequence beginning at Old Trafford on Friday.
“I’m a little bit disappointed that since the England-Ireland series, when they did take a knee, I haven’t seen any of the teams take a knee,” Holding mentioned on his YouTube channel.
“Now that the West Indies team has gone home, that doesn’t mean that you still shouldn’t be respecting the message and exactly what it stands for.”
Holding accused the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Australia captain Aaron Finch of constructing “lame” statements over ending the observe at a time when many different sports activities groups stay dedicated to it.
Finch mentioned after elevating the matter with England skipper Eoin Morgan, his workforce wouldn’t take the knee, including that “the education around it is more important than the protest”.
But Holding mentioned: “So for Pakistan and England not to then take that signal — because you are not doing anything other than going down on one knee — you are not chanting anything, you are not saying anything, all you are doing is making a signal to keep the awareness going.
“Neither workforce did it and the ECB got here out with a fairly lame assertion, so far as I’m involved.”
The ECB, in response to Holding’s comments, said many teams, both domestically and internationally, had taken the knee.
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“Our refreshed inclusion and variety technique, printed firstly of the West Indies sequence, commits to a number of complete initiatives that target eliminating discrimination from all areas of cricket,” it said.
“England’s males’s and ladies’s gamers all stay dedicated to utilizing their attain and affect to maintain selling inclusion and variety in perpetuity, for the betterment of cricket and sport.”
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