In a world still grappling with racial discrimination, South Africa cricketer Tony de Zorzi's remarkable 177-run innings in the Chattogram Test stands out not only for its brilliance on the field but for breaking longstanding stereotypes. Despite 2024 seeing greater awareness against racism, prejudices around skin color continue to persist in many places. South Africa, however, has made strides toward inclusivity, with diversity in its national cricket team ensuring equal opportunities for players from all backgrounds.

De Zorzi, who played a defining role for South Africa in the ongoing Test, shared his insights on representing a more inclusive Proteas side. Speaking at the post-day press conference, he said, " I haven't thought about it too much. The guy who did it before me (Temba Bavuma) is a leader in our changing room and we look up to him and we've seen him to it. The guys who come into the team don't see themselves as black African first and then play cricket. I think they just want to play cricket and portray themselves as best as they can. In terms of what it does for the others back home, the youngsters I've played with, believe in themselves and are the next batch of young cricketers in SA are ready and willing to take up the mantle. With respect to the guys that have come before us so I think they're all just waiting for their opportunity."

Reflecting on his team’s overseas performances, De Zorzi said, “I think we've done good right away from home. I think my first away series was West Indies. We were quite successful there as a young batting lineup, and even here to pretty much the same team. We had  good first Test and we were pretty much sure that we could apply ourselves away from home and find different ways of scoring. So I wouldn't say we struggled a way from home too much. We were obviously quite young, and we've had to learn and adapt quickly on the job. And I think with our senior batters like Aiden and stuff like that, and having KG speaking to them, and then our coaching staff allows us to pick up information pretty quickly and try our best to implement it.”

The Proteas’ young Test squad has proven formidable, securing a win in the first match of this series and dominating in the second. Despite lacking older players, the team has amassed invaluable experience from global cricket leagues, and de Zorzi believes it’s showing in their performance. He further said, “It all started with the series against India. It was a pretty young South African batting side. A lot of the guys like Stubbs may be young but are getting experience playing all around the world. The guys coming in might not be experienced in terms of age but are pretty clever about how they go about things. Wiaan has been playing for a while and we're all not 30-40 years old but we all have our own experiences to bring forth.”