South African coach Shukri Conrad has come out to clarify his ‘grovel’ comment after losing to India by 9 wickets in the third and final one-day international at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam
on Saturday.
Conrad had sparked controversy with his post-match press comments on November 25. While speaking about his team’s decision to bat for longer than they probably needed in the Guwahati Test, he said they ‘wanted India to really grovel’.
“We wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely out the game and then say to them well come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening,” he said.
After India beat South Africa 2-1 in the ODI series, Shukri Conrad clarified that ‘grovel’ is a perfectly good English word.
“I did not have any malice towards anyone, we were just trying to put pressure on India, and it was a perfectly good English word but it did take the gloss off a really special moment (Test win). I really think it will be put to bed,” Shukri Conrad was quoted as saying at the post-match press conference on Saturday.
What Does ‘Grovel’ Mean?
It means to lie or crawl on the ground with one’s face downwards, but in some contexts, it can also mean to humble oneself and behave respectfully.
While it is not inherently derogatory or racial, its core meanings of submission, humiliation, and abasement can be seen as reinforcing racial power dynamics.
Why Is ‘Grovel’ Controversial?
Although the term “grovel” might simply imply overwhelming superiority over the Indians, it carries racial connotations. In 1976, England captain Tony Greig declared emphatically that they wanted to make the West Indian team “grovel” before a series. This incensed West Indian captain Clive Lloyd, who stated that “the word was guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of any black man,” especially coming from a white South African.
Given South Africa’s history of apartheid, where the Black African majority faced years of persecution, the term was seen as racially insensitive. However, it is different coming from Conrad, who is brown and part of the marginalised communities in the Rainbow Nation. Despite this, Indian fans still did not take kindly to it.
