Dear Editor,

It is somewhat ironic that South Africa, who for decades embraced the policy of apartheid, is now a fully integrated cricket team. And this has not been a recent development. In fact, other major cricketing nations, including England, Australia and New Zealand, welcome and include players of all races in their teams.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), some decades ago, condemned the South Africans for their discriminatory policies in sport, and in no uncertain terms.

The irony of all of this is that Cricket West Indies (CWI) today and previous administrations have engaged in the very same conduct that they accused the South Africans of doing. West Indies cricket boards past and present are almost totally lacking in diversity in their make-up, so that when teams are selected this lack of diversity is almost the expected end result. Consequently, some talented players have been almost automatically rejected through no fault of their own.

And the final irony: When Nick Pooran takes the expected knee this weekend against South Africa, he must wonder exactly what it is that he is protesting or supporting. He is yet to make his Test début, perhaps at least two years too late.

Michael Holding, Viv Richards, among others, have been calling for his inclusion, but he is being made to wait.

Tony Boodhoo

Ontario, Canada

juab@rogers.com