Former South African Test cricket captain and current Eastern Province (EP) coach Kepler Wessels was on Wednesday cleared of allegations of making racist remarks to two EP players because of a lack of evidence.
The advocate who heard the case, Advocate Richard Buchanan, said that the Eastern Province Cricket Board had not adequately proven the case against Wessels.
The EP coach was accused by the Gelvandale Cricket Club of Port Elizabeth after allegedly calling two of the clubs’ players — Lyall Meyer and Deon Carolus — ”animals”.
It was claimed that Wessels made the comments to EP player Johan Louw at a net practice session in late October.
The two alleged that on October 23, at a net practice at St George’s Park, he said to Louw: ”Stop talking nonsense to those two animals, I want you to bowl now.”
The two players felt the remark was a racist ”slur” aimed at them.
In a dramatic response to the formal complaint by the Gelvandale pair, the United Cricket Board last week ordered the Eastern Province Cricket Board to suspend Wessels immediately, pending the outcome of the disciplinary hearing.
Wessels, however, maintained his innocence throughout the past week, saying that the incident never happened and that he had never uttered the words attributed to him.
In view of the lack of evidence, the United Cricket Board disciplinary committee declined to press further charges.
The EP Jumbos — minus their coach — take on the Northerns Titans in a Standard Bank day-night match at SuperSport Park on Wednesday evening. — Sapa