South Africa officials must be given the boot over Warner taunt

It’s shameful that the public humiliation of Candice Warner appears to have the tacit backing of Cricket South Africa.

South African cricket officials Clive Eksteen (left) and Altaaf Kazi (second from left) pose with fans wearing Sonny Bill Williams masks, a slur against David Warner’s wife Candices.

It’s worth remembering that there were two people in that toilet cubicle upstairs at the Clovelly Hotel in 2007.

More than 10 years on from that alcohol-fuelled tryst, one of them is a respected international athlete. He’s a family man, a devout Muslim, a mentor for younger teammates.

The other is being held up for ridicule around the world by a bunch of ratbags intent on unsettling her husband.

Sonny Bill Williams has been allowed to move on from his youthful indiscretions. Candice Warner is still having the incident thrown in her face.

And what’s most shameful is the public humiliation of Candice appears to have the tacit backing of Cricket South Africa.

It was bad enough that several South African fans at the second Test in Port Elizabeth were wearing Sonny Bill masks. With smug grins on their obscured faces, they imagined they would be getting under the skin of Candice’s husband, Australia’s vice-captain Dave Warner.

But the whole thing went beyond the pale when two Cricket South Africa officials were photographed posing alongside fans wearing the masks. Head of commercial and marketing Clive Eksteen and head of communications Altaaf Kazi were snapped smiling next to three men in Williams masks.

David Warner and wife Candice. Picture: Instagram.

Allegedly the three were originally refused entry to the ground because of their masks, but Eksteen and Kazi intervened to allow them in.

This stuff is tawdry at best, sexist and extremely offensive at worst. Much of what has gone on during this Test is less than commendable. But forget about dressing-room stoushes, ball-tampering allegations and over-the-top send-offs — none are as bad as the public humiliation of a woman who is nothing more than an innocent bystander.

Former Australia netball captain Liz Ellis was correct when she said on the Nine Network yesterday: “I don’t see fans turning up to All Blacks games with Candice Falzon masks.”

The two officials involved have not apologised. By all reports they do not accept they have done anything wrong. Cricket South Africa has said sorry, but something more than an apology is required.

The pair should be stood down. And if Cricket SA is too witless to understand that Eksteen and Kazi are embarrassments to them, then Cricket Australia should be taking it up.

The Australian’s Gideon Haigh, speaking on the ABC’s Offsiders on Sunday, called on Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland to step in.

“We’re entitled, Cricket Australia, to make a charge ourselves through our chief executive and I would kind of hope that James Sutherland would do that,” Haigh said.

I couldn’t agree more. CA should be demanding that the ICC step in and boot these two out of the game.