Western Province to clamp down on racist abuse

Western Province Cricket Association has been forced to set out an organised "conciliation" strategy, in an attempt to curb the rising level of racist and religious abuse among club cricketers, which has accounted for half the disciplinary hearings in the past year. The strategy includes the use of mediators on match days, and umpires will be given special skills training to help defuse such incidents in the future.

Norman Arendse, the vice-president of WPCA, admitted to the Cape Argus newspaper that several clubs were "no-go areas", although he insisted that the game's disciplinary problems were not as bad as rugby's. "The intention of the new policy is to try to avoid taking this type of matter all the way to the disciplinary committee," he said. "Hopefully, we believe, in most cases [parties] can shake hands on the field and enjoy a cool drink after the game."

The problems, Arendse added, were a hangover from the apartheid era, whose Group Areas Act had left most clubs divided along racial lines. The proposed solution is a comprehensive policy, which includes programmes to emphasise diversity and tolerance, although the association has also admitted to a disturbing rise in the number of abuse cases in youth cricket, where a similar policy may have to be implemented.

Nabiel Dien, the head of the association's amateur cricket, has announced a series of new measures for the forthcoming season, including the twinning of clubs and "social days", where a group of clubs would visit problem areas to run public coaching sessions, followed by a festival match.

The association will have its work cut out in some areas, however. "Without wanting to over-dramatise it, there are some grounds you could call no-go areas," Arendse was quoted as saying. "Some clubs have refused to go and play [there] ... Some are open fields with gangs walking across them, where [non-cricketers] are smoking, drinking and shooting guns. It can be a bit rough, especially in the lower leagues."