QUINTON DE KOCK refused to play in a T20 World Cup game against the West Indies today in protest after Cricket South Africa (CSA) ordered its players to take a knee before matches in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

CSA issued a statement about an hour before the start of the match in Dubai, saying it had ordered players to make the anti-racism gesture ahead of their remaining games at the tournament.

In a second statement responding to de Kock’s withdrawal from today’s game, CSA said it noted the wicketkeeper-batsman’s “personal decision” not to take a knee, and would decide on its next course of action after a report from team management. 

There was speculation that de Kock, a former national team captain, would return home from the World Cup.

CSA said it decided to force players to take a knee after “concerns were raised” about the “different posture” taken ahead of warm-up matches and the team’s first World Cup game against Australia on Saturday.

Some members of South Africa’s team take a knee with their fists raised. Others stand with fists raised. De Kock, fast bowler Anrich Nortje and batsman Heinrich Klaasen, who are all white, have stood with their hands by their side before recent matches.

Ahead of the West Indies game, Klaasen and Nortje took a knee, as did every other South African player, in response to the directive.

“Diversity can and should find expression in many facets of our daily lives, but not when it comes to taking a stand against racism,” said CSA chairman Lawson Naidoo in defence of the new policy, which seemingly now means players must take a knee if they want to play.

The different stances from players had previously provoked criticism from some quarters in South Africa, where issues of racism are constantly in the headlines because of the country’s history of forced segregation under the former apartheid regime.

The cricketers, many of them sporting idols back home, “created an unintended perception of disparity or lack of support” for the anti-racism movement, CSA said.

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan wrote on Twitter: “Surely it’s down to the individual to decide whether he or she wants to be involved in any movement.”