The pioneer of black cricket in South Africa opposes quotas
Omar Henry, the first non-white cricketer to play for South Africa, was at Kingsmead for the second Test against India
Dustin Silgardo
25-Feb-2013
Omar Henry, the first non-white cricketer to play for South Africa, was at Kingsmead for the second Test against India. The Indian Express' Aditya Iyer caught up with him and learned of how he defied the odds by making his debut at 40 years old, and that he opposes quota because he believes a black person should play for the country only if he deserves it.
"In 1990, we heard that maybe South Africa will be allowed to return to the arena. The hope brought me back from Scotland, who I was representing at that time, and I started playing in Free State under a 19-year old boy called Hansie Cronje, who inspired me to do well. Two years later, in our very first Test match, I was in the playing XI,” Henry says, before adding, “After baking a cake for 18 years, I finally got the cherry on top.”
Dustin Silgardo is a former sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo