Here's why South African women's team is sporting black jersey in fourth ODI against West Indies

A lot is at stakes in the ongoing fourth and last women’s ODI between West Indies and South Africa. With the series being poised at 1-1, the winner of this clash, which is taking place at the the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, would walk away with the series win. In other development, the Proteas side is sporting a black kit in this clash to raise awareness about gender-based violence against women in the nation.

In a video posted by Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Twitter, many players from the home team including Marizanne Kapp, Masabata Klaas and Mignon du Preez can be seen speaking about the violence against women, urging people to eradicate this problem from the society. Even, the logo of Cricket South Africa in social media handles has been changed to monochrome to support the cause.

‘Black Day ODI’ to be a part of South Africa’s cricket calendar

“We pledge to be agents of change #BePartOfTheChange #EndGBV #SAWvWIW,” read the caption of the video shared by CSA. Meanwhile, the ‘Black Day ODI’ event was planned to be a part of the teams’ annual calendar from 2021. The initiate was initially supposed to get underway during the home series against Australia in March 2020. However, COVID-19 came in the picture and the series was postponed.

We pledge to be agents of change #BePartOfTheChange #EndGBV #SAWvWIW pic.twitter.com/7UjX0beiWH

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 6, 2022

Meanwhile, Pholetsi Moseki, event, Cricket South Africa Acting Chief Executive, called gender-based violence a massive issue in the society. He also said it is everyone’s responsibility, not just as citizens, but also as an institution to create awareness regarding this problem.

“This is an opportunity for us to raise awareness and encourage our society to be intolerant of all forms of violence against women and girls. The Black Day ODI is a platform to galvanise, educate, mobilize, create awareness, and agitate towards the eradication of GBV,” said Moseki in an official statement.

“The key reason is that cricket is not immune to what is happening in society. It rang a few alarm bells regarding the gender-based violence the women athletes face. We had to act immediately, bring in psychologists, and other necessary professionals to help the players,” he added.