Christo Buchner

Laser lights, jeering outside hotels, fisticuffs on the pavilions and now even the use of the k-word are resulting in emotions running high on the Proteas’ cricket tour of Australia.

The tour, which has already produced some of the greatest highlights and disappointments in the annals of South African cricket, was rocked by its first racist incident when Morné Morkel was abused by a spectator at the Bellerive Oval on Sunday.

On top of that there were complaints by white South African spectators that were abused with the k-word just because they are South African.

It is believed that there were no constraints on the use of alcohol.

Morkel did not play in Sunday’s game that the Proteas lost by five runs against the Aussies.

He was racially abused by a spectator when he walked out to take cold drinks to other players during South Africa’s batting innings.

Morkel apparently did not hear the abuse, but a security guard heard the racist remark and arrested the spectator. He was immediately charged and removed from the stadium.

The South African camp on Sunday night pulled a veil of secrecy over the incident and according to a spokesperson there was no official complaint lodged about the incident.

Media liaison Michael Own-Smith said it was a matter for Cricket Australia (CA) to deal with.

He added that the South Africans have to date been happy with the security around the team and feel CA are going out of their way to ensure the safety of the team.

However, over the past few weekends there have been a few incidents that have caused CA enormous embarrassment. These were aimed at unnerving the Proteas.

During Tuesday night’s Twenty20 game in Brisbane a sharp green light from a laser pen was directed into the eyes of Protea fielder Wayne Parnell as he tried to take a catch.

CA slammed the incident and said it was “just not cricket”.

Spectators were threatened with stiff fines and even possible prosecution.

During Friday’s first one-day international at the MCG in Melbourne police and security personnel had to break up fights that broke out among spectators in the pavilions. A number of spectators were also removed due to alcohol abuse.

It was clear in Hobart on Sunday that the beer had been flowing freely from early on among the almost 16000 spectators that packed into the stadium.

Cricket supporters in Tasmania complain that they are treated like a stepchild by CA and that they never get matches against big cricketing countries.

It could therefore have far-reaching consequences that the first racist remark the South African team encountered happened here.