Tracing South Africa's journey to the top
As South Africa clinched the No.1 Test ranking on Monday, cricket's journey in the colourful history of South Africa was put into perspective by Paul Martin in the Independent .
Abhishek Mukherjee
25-Feb-2013
As South Africa clinched the No.1 Test ranking on Monday, cricket's journey in the colourful history of South Africa was put into perspective by Paul Martin in the Independent.
Cricket – though now open to all races – was not being conducted on a level playing-field. Decades of segregation and economic inequality put non-white players at a severe disadvantage. Lack of experience of top-class conditions, of coaching, of nutrition, of self-confidence, all took their toll.
Now, though, South Africa are heroes again – including non-white players like this week's man-of-the-match Vernon Philander and man-of-the-series Hashim Amla. True, one is from the minority mixed-race community, the other from the minority Asian community.