amaBhungane | The many 'grey areas' of Cricket South Africa’s Pink Day

Cricket South Africa (CSA) appears to be taking advantage of the goodwill around Pink Day with a misleading public relations campaign that oversells their contribution to the fight against breast cancer.

The country’s cricket governing body has raised more than R4.7 million (R4 767 116) since 2019 from the annual One Day International (ODI) match, dubbed Pink Day, but has donated just R712 844 of this to Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital’s breast cancer unit.

This hasn’t stopped CSA from boasting earlier this year that, through their Pink Day campaign, “cancer patients have been able to obtain specialised treatment and care, regardless of geographical location or socioeconomic status”.

Twice as much money (over R1.4 million) has been deducted from the Fund to defray marketing expenses than has been donated to the hospital to date, financial statements also show.

Pink Day is a cricket match hosted at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg every year where South Africa’s senior men’s national team – the Proteas – and their supporters dress in pink to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer care. The funds are raised through various avenues, from donating a portion of the ticket sales to proceeds raised during a separate Golf Day.

Supporters can also make donations through an SMS line. Corporates and those with deep pockets make pledges throughout the match, while the Proteas’ main sponsor donates money for every six and four scored on the day. For example, at this year’s Pink Day held in April, gambling company Betway donated R1000 for each of the 61 fours and R2000 each for the 15 sixes that were scored in the Proteas’ eight-wicket thumping of The Netherlands.

Pink Day was launched in 2013. Its first beneficiary was Pink