West Indies cricket player, Darren Sammy, talked about the bouncer rule introduced in cricket when fast bowlers with black skin tone ruled throughout the world. He mentioned, that there was no such rule to limit bouncers when fast bowlers with white skin had major dominance over the game. He further said that the game posed no problem with bouncers when fast bowlers from teams with majority white skin played, but introduced rules to limit bouncers when West Indies fast bowlers took over the pitch.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had introduced the rule of 'One bouncer per batsman per over', in 1991 to stop the practice of intimidation. Curtly Ambrose, a successful West Indies fast bowler, from that era had written his experience with world cricket and his team's reputation in his autobiography 'Time to Talk' stating, "There is a misconception that we West Indian fast bowlers are happy to knock batsmen out rather than get them out but that's not true… Bouncers are a part of a fast bowler's tool kit. If I have to bowl a few bouncers to unsettle you - that will hopefully give me a better chance to get you out. But it's not just us who dish it out, our guys have been hurt too. It's part of the game."
In a conversation with Inside Out on Thursday, Sammy talked about the subtle racism which was prevalent even in cricket. He said, "Looking at the Fire in Babylon, looking at when (Jeff) Thomson and (Dennis) Lillee and all these guys were bowling quick and hurting people. Then I watch a black team becoming so dominant and then you see the bouncer rule start to come in and all these things start to come in and I take it, as I understand it, as this is just trying to limit the success a black team could have."
"I might be wrong but that's how I see it. And the system should not allow that," he further added.
