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By Neto Baptiste
Legendary West Indies former batsman and captain, Sir Vivian Richards, said that although he did not agree with the decision of a number of West Indian players to participate in what is now infamously known as the ‘Rebel tours’ to South Africa between 1982 and 1990, he has long forgiven those who would have taken up the offer despite heavy public criticism.
Sir Viv made the statement while speaking positively about the ability of former batsman, Lawrence Rowe, who captained two rebel tours to South Africa.
“I am a forgiver … and I can say this, that team that went to South Africa, black folks in that part of the world never saw a successful black team and … even though there were negatives with them going, the positive that came out of that was that, folks who looked like them were able to accomplish something they had never seen before. I say that in connection with beating an all-white South African team and that sent a serious message; that to me was a serious positive in a big way, even though the whole tour was started in a negative way,” he said.
The rebel tours came during apartheid when the country was isolated from world sport. The then West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) thereafter banned the participating players for life, though this ban was eventually lifted in 1989.
Sir Viv said Rowe was a classy player who was limited at times because of illness.
“Lawrence Rowe was a class act and it’s rather unfortunate in a big way where, when we toured England and stuff like that, he suffered from hay fever and there is a lot of pollen and so on in the air around summer time so that was rather unfortunate with him in a big way,” he said.
The Antiguan, whose decision to select Ezra Moseley after the ban was lifted, has been heavily criticized, yet he defended the move.
“I just felt like the punishment we dished out against them here was a bit harsh and with that, we are looking to win and when Moseley came up for selection I had no issues with that and I would say that over and over again. I am a forgiver in a big way when it comes to that and I felt banning them for life was a bit harsh and he was ready to play and he did a good job,” he said.
Moseley, after the ban was lifted, returned to Barbados and became the only member of the touring parties to play for the West Indies following the rebel tours. He played two Tests against England during their 1989 to 1990 tour of the West Indies, in which he took six wickets.
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because the international cricketing bodies banned South Africa from competitive international cricket throughout this period because of apartheid.
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