On Thursday, Teeger was cleared to continue playing after being the subject of an enquiry into whether he had breached the CSA and Lions’ Cricket codes of conduct by making comments in support of Israeli soldiers. Teeger’s comments came two weeks after Hamas’ attack on Israel, and amid the ongoing war in Gaza, when he was named the Rising Star at the ABSA Jewish Achiever Awards ceremony on October 22. In his acceptance speech, he said the following:
“But more importantly, yes, I’ve been awarded this award, and yes, I am now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel… So I’d like to dedicate this award to the South African family that married off one son whilst the other is still missing. And I’d like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and to every single soldier fighting so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora.”
Teeger’s comments were reported in the South African Jewish Report on October 26 and have since been widely published across South African media.
In response, the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance (PSA) lodged an official complaint with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. Subsequently, CSA, Lions (the domestic union where Teeger plays), four Johannesburg-based cricket clubs, one concerned cricket supporter, the Abu Asvat Institute of National Building (a civil society group), and a director of a company that sponsors Lions all issued statements of grievance. These were referred to advocate Wim Trengrove, who conducted an independent adjudication. Trengrove found that Teeger acted in accordance with his constitutional right to freedom of expression and did not engage in any unbecoming or detrimental conduct. CSA has accepted the report.
ESPNcricinfo understands there are some concerns within CSA that there may continue to be a public reaction to Teeger’s comments as the PSA has indicated there may be protests at the U-19 World Cup.
The team will begin preparations for the tournament this week with a camp in Durban and two practice matches against Zimbabwe U-19.
South Africa squad for 2024 U-19 World Cup
David Teeger, Esosa Aihevba, Juan James, Martin Khumalo, Kwena Maphaka, Dewan Marias, Riley Norton, Nqobani Mokoena, Romashan Pillay, Sipho Potsane, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Richard Seletswane, Oliver Whitehead, Steve Stolk, and Ntando Zuma