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England were drawn into the thorny debate over pre-match anti-racism gestures after it emerged the ICC had turned down their request to wear their ‘moment of unity’ T-shirts because they contravene kit regulations.
Hours after South Africa’s Quinton de Kock pulled out of the game against West Indies because he refused to take a knee, England were instead strongly considering making the gesture themselves ahead of Wednesday’s match against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi.
Eoin Morgan’s side took a knee before Saturday’s victory over West Indies – a decision they said was based on respect for the West Indians’ position.
England's request to wear their ‘moment of unity’ T-shirts was turned down by the ICC
But that was the first time an England team had knelt since their home one-day series against Ireland in 2020.
And while they look set to do so again on Wednesday, their preference would have been to wear the T-shirts first displayed by the Test team at the start of the series against New Zealand at Lord’s in June.
The ICC have made it clear that, a month ago, they offered all teams the chance to make a stand against racism. But when England asked if they could wear their T-shirts again, the request was rejected.
The problem is that the shirts bear slogans which condemn seven different types of prejudice and therefore go against kit regulations stating that ‘approval shall not be granted for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes’.
Eoin Morgan’s side took a knee before Saturday’s victory over West Indies
The England
