Lance Klusener at Kingsmead on 8 December 2015 when he was Dolphins coach.
(Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images)
- Lance Klusener says he was probably the closest person to Makhaya Ntini inside the Proteas dressing room but didn’t think it was a conscious decision to exclude him from team leisure activities.
- Ntini revealed recently that he would often run to and from practice grounds to avoid the loneliness he felt on the team bus.
- Black cricketers have voiced their experiences in domestic and international cricket since Lungi Ngidi’s stance on Black Lives Matter brought the movement closer to South African sport.
Makhaya Ntini’s old Proteas team-mate and close friend Lance Klusener weighed in on the issues the former raised regarding the environment and loneliness he experienced in the national team set-up.
Ntini’s candour over the past two weeks has brought cricket’s treatment of black players to the fore, in light of the worldwide Black Lives Matter conversation and Protea Lungi Ngidi’s stance on it.
The 43-year-old told Morning Live’s Vaylen Kirtley more than a fortnight back about running to and from practice grounds to the team hotel to avoid the loneliness he felt “at the back of the bus” when he was often the only black African in the team.
The former fast bowler, who spent 13 years as an international, also said he would get overlooked by team-mates for dinner invites and would often dine alone.
“I actually spoke to Makhaya and we had a nice chat,” Klusener told Sport24.
“I was probably the person closest to him in the team at that time and I think he made some good points about his experiences, stuff that maybe we didn’t think about or perceive to be a problem.
“For me, I don’t think it was a conscious decision [to exclude him from dinners] but it’s something that you overlook, instead of making an effort and asking the guy, ‘let’s go for something to eat’. You sort of forget about him.
“I didn’t get the feeling that anything was ever deliberate; it was kind of what people tended to do. You gravitate towards people that speak the same language or celebrate the same customs or whatever. That’s just a natural thing.
“But it can be lonely, as he said. Makhaya was the only one of his culture in the team – even though there was Herschelle (Gibbs) and Paul (Adams) and other guys – and so it must not have been great.
“This platform provides for people to bring that stuff up and hopefully it doesn’t happen again in the future. But the team has changed a lot now. There’s much more diversity in the team.”
Zulu, as Klusener was known throughout his playing career, said it was good that ears were open to hearing stories around Black Lives Matter and the different experiences within cricket.
Ashwell Prince, Alviro Petersen and Lonwabo Tsotsobe are some of the high-profile internationals who shared their stories on selection, public pressures and labels as well as the dressing room environments they experienced.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said Klusener.
“It’s just sad that it’s taken so long. Maybe it’s something that needs to be aggressively dealt with in terms of fixing it. That’s the only regret about it, is that it’s a pity it’s taken so long.
“But I think it’s good. It provides a platform for people to get stuff off their chests and some people are using the opportunity and that’s good.
“It’s providing a platform for people who didn’t feel they had a place to get their stories across, just like Aya Myoli has. It’s obviously bugging him and this is the time for him to say what he wants to say and express himself.
“We can’t go on and keep making the same mistakes.”
Klusener played 49 Tests and 171 One Day Internationals for South Africa between 1996 and 2004. He worked with Ntini as the Zimbabwean national team batting coach while Ntini coached the bowlers. He is now coaching the Afghan national team.
