Holding slams England and Australia for not taking a knee, 'lame excuses'

LEGENDARY West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding has criticised England and Australia for not taking a knee in support of the "Black Lives Matter" movement during their ongoing limited-overs series.

England wore "Black Lives Matter" logos on their shirts during their test series against West Indies and took the knee to protest against racism, but opted not to continue the practice in subsequent series against Pakistan and Australia.

"Now that the West Indies team has gone home, that doesn't mean that you still shouldn't be respecting the message and what it stands for," Holding told Sky Sports.

"Yes, (racism) is more acute in the United States than in most other places but people around the entire world took on the mantle of spreading the word and getting this message out that it is time for equality and time for equal justice.

"It was no longer just a black versus white thing... so for Pakistan and England not to then take that signal... neither team did it, and the ECB came out with a pretty lame statement, as far as I am concerned."

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in response that it was committed to "long-term and sustainable change" and had launched "initiatives that focus on eliminating discrimination from all areas of cricket".

Before the current series began, Australia skipper Aaron Finch said his team would not take the knee because "education is more important than the protest".

"For us, we are really proud to play a game where it is celebrated all around the world and anyone can play it," he added.

"It doesn’t matter what race, what religion, what nationality you are from. Cricket is a game for everyone, and I am really proud about that."

Holding disagreed with Finch, saying that raising awareness and education were both important tools in the fight for equality.

"(Finch) is saying that he's glad he is part of a sport where no one is barred from playing, irrespective of your race, your gender, your ethnicity, your religion," Holding added.

"Well, I don't know any sport where anyone is barred from playing because of anything at all. So that's a pretty lame statement.

"What Aaron Finch’s comments said to me is that as long as sport is multi-racial then everything is OK. So, if the apartheid regime in South Africa had allowed multi-racial sport but kept the apartheid laws then everything would have been OK? No, it wouldn’t have."

Holding stressed that he was not trying "to force people to do what they do not want to do".

"If you think you do not need to sympathise with and recognise the movement, just say that," he said. "Don't come up with lame excuses."

Holding opined that people should "keep the awareness going".

"Someone sees a person kneeling and they ask why. It keeps it going and going," he added.

"The England football team have continued to do it. All over the world people are doing it. So why have the cricket team stopped? I can’t accept any flimsy excuse.

"I think people need to keep on recognising that things need to change. You can’t just do something for a week or two and think: ‘OK, I’ve done my bit.’ If that’s your attitude don’t bother doing it at all."

The pacer said he did not "care about the politics behind Black Lives Matter".

"I care about those three words: black lives matter," he said.

"It is time for the world to accept that black lives matter and move towards that agreement and realisation."

Former West Indies skipper Daren Sammy has also spoken out in favour of equality, urging cricket's governing bodies to treat racism more seriously and pay it the same attention they give to upholding the integrity of the game.