Former South Africa batter Graeme Smith cleared of racism allegations

Johannesburg [South Africa], April 25 (ANI): Former South Africa captain and director of cricket Graeme Smith has been cleared of allegations of racism, Cricket South Africa announced.
Smith and current head coach Mark Boucher were among a number of CSA employees involved in "tentative findings" made by the Social Justice and Nation Building Ombudsman last year into alleged prejudice within the sport's national governing organisation in the past.
Boucher has been accused of racism by former teammate Paul Adams and of sidelining his former assistant coach Enoch Nkwe. He denied both allegations and will face a CSA penal hearing on charges of gross misconduct next month.
The panel concluded that there was no evidence that former South Africa captain Smith racially discriminated against the former player or that he was prejudiced against Black leadership at CSA.
It added that there was no merit in the allegation that Smith preferred Boucher over Nkwe during the selection process for head coach in 2019.
"Now that finality on these processes has been reached, it is appropriate to recognise the extraordinary contribution that Graeme has made to South African cricket, first as the longest-serving Test captain in cricket history and then as Director of Cricket from 2019 to 2022. His role as the DoC has been critical in rebuilding the Proteas Men's team in particular and has laid a solid foundation for his successor," Lawson Naidoo, Chair of the CSA Board, stated in an official Cricket South Africa (CSA) release. (ANI)