IND vs SA: Grovel 2.0 – Shukri Conrad's Remark Reopens A 49-Year-Old Wound Cricket Still Bleeds From – Times Now

Head Coach Shukri Conrad did not expect to spark a debate amidst South Africa’s historic Test Series win against India in India after 25 years. After play on Day 4 of the second Test in Guwahati, Conrad was explaining the tactics behind his side delaying their declaration deep into the final session with a lead of 559.
The cricketing logic was sound: make India toil longer, and let the shadows due to the early sunset in Guwahati help their fast bowlers take the game out of the hosts’ reach.
But then came the line that changed the tone entirely.
“We wanted the Indians to spend as much time on their feet… we wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase.”
It was casual, said with a chuckle, and perhaps had no intent of malice behind it. Yet it carried weight far heavier than the moment demanded. Because in cricket, the word ‘grovel’ comes with historical baggage that can’t be separated from its past.
To understand why the remark stung so much, one has to rewind 49 years back.
Before the England vs West Indies Test Series in 1976, then England captain Tony Greig said in an interview to BBC, “If they’re down, they grovel… and I intend to make them grovel.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word ‘grovel’ means ‘to act in an excessively obedient or submissive manner; to crawl or lie face down as a sign of abject submission.’
However, for the West Indies team, this wasn’t just a word. It carried the weight of racial hierarchy, colonial memory, and a power dynamic that the Black West Indies players knew all to well. A South Africa-born white captain, directing a word at a team of black players, turned the remark into something that was much larger than cricket.
“The word ‘grovel’ is one guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of any black man,” West Indies captain Clive Lloyd had said later in an interaction with ESPN Cricinfo.
That remark didn’t just motivate West Indies. It helped unleash one of the most dominant displays of Test Cricket in history. The Caribbean side decimated the hosts 3-0, this physically and psychologically overpowering a side whose captain had provoked them in the worst manner possible.
A few months after this, Tony Greig lost the England captaincy, and soon after, he moved to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.
This episode became an example of how language can wound and how certain words cannot be used, even in jest.
From that day, ‘grovel’ became a cricketing taboo. The word is not about sledging or banter between two teams. It symbolised a power imbalance that the sport has spent decades trying to correct.
Shukri Conrad’s remark may seem harmless. But for those who have lived through the 1976 controversy, it is impossible to separate the word from its origins.
Shukri Conrad’s reputation is impeccable. Since taking charge in 2023, he has transformed South Africa’s Test side, especially after the appointment of Temba Bavuma as captain. They have shown discipline, clarity, and humility in their game. There is no track record of poor language or disrespect.
But leadership, especially at the international level, comes with a certain sense of linguistic responsibility.
South Africa’s conduct on the tour to India has been exemplary. Their cricket has been ooff the greatest standard, and their temperament has proved why they are the reigning World Test Champions.
There were a hundred ways to express the same idea:
“We wanted India to toil.”
“We wanted to make them work hard.”
“We wanted to tire India out.”
However, he used the term ‘grovel’, that too knowingly, as evident from his ‘to steal a phrase’ comment.
The backlash Conrad received from fans, ex-players and experts for his remark was not because of racial connotation. It was because he chose a word that once again reopened a 49-year-old wound that cricket has still not recovered from.
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