“I think we have to be honest and we are starting to have those conversations now. Unless people in power connect with and understand and feel what it is like to be on the side of limited power, to not get access to opportunities, to know you are significantly less likely to be hired and significantly more likely to be stopped and searched, to be oppressed, we won’t progress,” said former England women’s cricketer Rainford-Brent, the director of Surrey Cricket, to start a special program on Sky Sports’ Pre-match analysis.

Later, Holding delivered what was one of the finest and most-informed education on Black Lives Matter movement and why it is important to acknowledge the true factuality of the subject, instead of generalising the issue by shouting “All Lives Matter”.

“When people say ‘all lives matter’ or ‘white lives matter’, please, we black people know white lives matter. I don’t think you know that black lives matter. Don’t shout back at us that all lives matter. White lives matter, it is obvious, the evidence is clearly there. We want black lives to matter now. Simple as that,” Holding said in a Sky Sports Panel discussion, which has, since then, gone viral and rightfully so. 

"Until we educate the entire human race, this thing will not stop."



Michael Holding delivers a powerful message, explaining why #BlackLivesMatter. pic.twitter.com/2jiATkOqQ4

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 8, 2020

While the underlying impact of those statements are self-explanatory, I, even if I try my best, won’t be able to truly comprehend the level of racial injustice that the Afro-Caribbean people have been subjected to in their lives, with centuries of baggage putting them in a disturbing place. But in the whole episode, what is worth thousands of applause is the role played by Sky Sports, who allowed the content to run in a very succulent manner, and even took off the border constraint to make those clips available for a wider audience on their social media platforms.

The statements had some uncomfortable realities too. For instance, Rainford-Brent, who was the first black female cricketer to have played for England women’s team, talked about the lack of empathy for her race in the whole fabric of the English system. Holding’s remarks brought the tyrannical structure to a grave low and forced the privileged people to rethink their own ideology and the treatment they dish out to the people of different colours. Could there have been a better start to a Test match we all had been waiting for with bated breath than this? None of the content had been edited out. Rather, it was promoted in all parts of the world even though some people were leaving unpleasant remarks in the comments section. Sky deserves all the credit for that.

Unlike the Asian nations, the UK is a multicultural country where people of all races prefer to settle down thanks to the incredible job opportunities and the beautiful countryside weather. For most of the expats, the UK is the escape from their country’s turf reality and a gateway to a stable life, where everyone has been symbiotically related. However, can the England and Wales Cricket Board claim that they accepted the global responsibility the way they should have?

In the entire debate, however, it would be futile to expect the BCCI or the Indian public to have the same sort of reactions to racism because of their own ignorance. As the whole Darren Sammy saga brought this to the public, Indians’ understanding of colourism and racism is anything but decent and it will take a lot of education at all levels to make them aware of the fact that it is not always good to call the black cricketers with those derogatory nicknames. As Holding pointed out, it needs “education for the entire human race” and only then can we have a collective fight against the very notion.

What the Sky, with their July 8 strategy, achieved is a step forward to make the discussion on the subject mainstream even during a sports analysis programme. It showed that the pre-match shows can be used for a talk that brings a wholesome change to the society. Sky Sports has left it for the sub-continental boards to bring a complete overhaul of their strategy and use their hefty deals to dictate the course of how we and the next generation should view our sport as - a progressive one that was open for all or a sport that was afraid to take a stand. And we all know how difficult it will be to live with the second perception.