South Africa team selection

[Marius]

What a shambles at CSA.

Perhaps the most emblematic of this debacle was that the lady appointed the head of transformation, Dr Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw said that she wants to help select the team to ensure it meets transformation requirements. This was in an interview with Netwerk24 where she also said she doesn't watch cricket because it takes too long. The mind boggles that someone could potentially hold a very important position in cricket in South Africa, but doesn't even like the sport. It's like making the head of the SPCA someone who hates dogs or making the CEO of SAB a person who thinks alcohol is evil.

 

[StephenZA]

It is an absolute mess, the additional problems is that the other people in outside power/influence positions who could possible sort it out are also a mess and also just as corrupt... the only thing that seems to be working a bit is the actually people trying to get the cricket itself sorted, while being actually ****ed around with. Tail wagging dog and all that ****.

 

[SeamUp]

I know this sounds harsh but are there even enough knowledgeable people in Black-African society to combine understanding of cricket with executing good work as part of their job & good governance. We got to ask how are they selected and what is their background story.

I've long said this with regards to growing the game in Black African society. It isn't just money and facilities because you see the poor in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan coming through with their talent. But to get numbers up you need parents who have a "deep understanding" & passion of the game and introduce them to the sport and get an early understanding and early education on the game otherwise you relying on later development through schooling and coaches & in my opinion that has fallen a long long way even since I was at school & before the bug bites you may have other major interests.

So the concern for me is, CSA has slipped for a number of years now and was allowed to slip. Getting good reliable people with an understanding of the game should be paramount in building us again but there has been so many people filled with their own agendas outside just trying to make the game as good and successful as possible in SA.

My hope is that as we go on and we can get more black Africans or poor in middle-class society and interest in the game grows that the later generations will have a better chance. With the good work of passionate people at CSA in the future, planning with youth development could blossom more. Well, that is my hope. Those that think this is an easy objective and was going to be a short-term thing have no idea. Firstly the ground work wasn't introduced on a big enough scale in the first place until the last 10-20 years.

 

[Marius]

I know this sounds harsh but are there even enough knowledgeable people in Black-African society to combine understanding of cricket with executing good work as part of their job & good governance. We got to ask how are they selected and what is their background story.

I've long said this with regards to growing the game in Black African society. It isn't just money and facilities because you see the poor in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan coming through with their talent. But to get numbers up you need parents who have a "deep understanding" & passion of the game and introduce them to the sport and get an early understanding and early education on the game otherwise you relying on later development through schooling and coaches & in my opinion that has fallen a long long way even since I was at school & before the bug bites you may have other major interests.

So the concern for me is, CSA has slipped for a number of years now and was allowed to slip. Getting good reliable people with an understanding of the game should be paramount in building us again but there has been so many people filled with their own agendas outside just trying to make the game as good and successful as possible in SA.

My hope is that as we go on and we can get more black Africans or poor in middle-class society and interest in the game grows that the later generations will have a better chance. With the good work of people passionate at CSA planning with youth development could blossom more. Well, that is my hope. Those that think this is an easy objective and was going to be a short-term thing have no idea. Firstly the ground work wasn't introdiced on a big enough scale in the first place until the last 10-20 years.

Yeah, I always compare it to Afrikaners. Cricket was always an English game until about the 1980s when we saw an explosion of Afrikaners in the game and the Free State (where most whites are Afrikaans) become a force in domestic cricket. My theory is two-fold - Afrikaner incomes caught up to English incomes in the 1950s meaning they could also afford cricket equipment and coaching etc. Secondly, SA cricket started becoming really competetive in the late '50s/60s, which means Afrikaners would have started becoming interested in the game (nobody is interested in a useless team). Afrikaners would have become interested in the game, encouraged their sons to play, and the sons of guys who started following the game in the '50s and '60s would have started coming of age in the 1980s.

So, hopefully we'll see that amongst black South Africans (outside of the Eastern Cape where black people have had a cricketing heritage for many years). That's also why most of the initial crop of black Proteas were SAn. But now we see Zulus (Ngidi and Phehlukwayo etc) and Tswanas (I assume KG is a Tswana) and so on coming into the game, and not just Xhosas.

 

[Tom Flint]

What a shambles at CSA.

Perhaps the most emblematic of this debacle was that the lady appointed the head of transformation, Dr Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw said that she wants to help select the team to ensure it meets transformation requirements. This was in an interview with Netwerk24 where she also said she doesn't watch cricket because it takes too long. The mind boggles that someone could potentially hold a very important position in cricket in South Africa, but doesn't even like the sport. It's like making the head of the SPCA someone who hates dogs or making the CEO of SAB a person who thinks alcohol is evil.

This is crazy

 

[SeamUp]

A bit of free time at work so thought it would be interesting to have a look into our test history.

TEST MATCHES BY YEAR (Matches, Wins, Draws, Losses)

2020 : 3 (0, 0, 3)
DECADE 2010-2019 : 90 (45, 20, 25)
2019 : 8 (3, 0, 5)
2018 : 10 (6, 0, 4)
2017 : 12 (7, 2, 3)
2016 : 9 (5, 2, 2)
2015 : 8 (1, 3, 4)
2014 : 8 (4, 2, 2)
2013 : 9 (7, 1, 1)
2012 : 10 (5, 5 , 0)
2011 : 5 (2, 1 , 2)
2010 : 11 (5, 4, 2)
DECADE 2000-2009 : 108 (53, 23, 32)
2009 : 6 (1, 1 , 4)
2008 : 15 (11, 2, 2)
2007 : 9 (6, 1, 2)
2006 : 11 (3, 1, 7)
2005 : 11 (5, 4, 2)
2004 : 11 (2, 5, 4)
2003 : 12 (7, 2, 3)
2002 : 9 (6, 0, 3)
2001 : 13 (6, 4, 3)
2000 : 11 (6, 3, 2)
DECADE 1992-1999 : 66 (29, 24, 13)
1999 : 10 (6, 4, 0)
1998 : 15 (7, 4, 4)
1997 : 9 (3, 4 , 2)
1996 : 5 (3, 0, 2)
1995 : 8 (4, 4, 0)
1994 : 10 (4, 2, 4)
1993 : 5 (1, 4, 0)
1992 : 4 (1, 2, 1)
DECADE 1970 : 4 (4, 0, 0)
1970 : 4 (4, 0, 0)
DECADE 1960-1967 : 32 (7, 16, 9)
1967 : 4 (2, 1, 1)
1966 : 2 (1, 0, 1)
1965 : 6 (1, 5, 0)
1964 : 9 (1, 6, 2)
1963 : 1 (0, 1, 0)
1962 : 3 (1, 0, 2)
1961 : 2 (1, 1 , 0)
1960 : 5 (0, 2 , 3)
DECADE 1950-1958 : 36 (12, 8, 16)
1958 : 4 (0, 1, 3)
1957 : 5 (2, 2, 1)
1956 : 1 (0, 0, 1)
1955 : 5 (2, 0, 3)
1954 : 3 (2, 1, 0)
1953 : 7 (4, 2, 1)
1952 : 2 (1, 0, 1)
1951 : 5 (1, 1, 3)
1950 : 4 (0, 1, 3)
DECADE 1947-1949 : 12 (0, 5, 7)
1949 : 5 (0, 2, 3)
1948 : 2 (0, 1, 1)
1947 : 5 (0, 2, 3)
DECADE 1930-1939 : 29 (4, 14, 11)
1939 : 4 (0, 3, 1)
1938 : 2 (0, 2, 0)
1936 : 3 (0, 0, 3)
1935 : 7 (1, 5, 1)
1932 : 5 (2, 0, 3)
1931 : 7 (0, 4, 3)
1930 : 1 (1, 0, 0)
DECADE 1921-1929 : 24 (3, 10, 11)
1929 : 5 (0, 3, 2)
1928 : 4 (2, 1, 1)
1927 : 2 (0, 0, 2)
1924 : 5 (0, 2, 3)
1923 : 4 (0, 2, 2)
1922 : 1 (1, 0, 0)
1921 : 3 (0, 2, 1)
DECADE 1910-1914 : 22 (4, 2, 16)
1914 : 3 (0, 1, 2)
1913 : 2 (0, 0, 2)
1912 : 6 (0, 1, 5)
1911 : 4 (1, 0, 3)
1910 : 7 (3, 0, 4)
DECADE 1902-1907 : 11 (4, 3, 4)
1907 : 3 (0, 2, 1)
1906 : 5 (4, 0, 1)
1902 : 3 (0, 1, 2)
DECADE 1892-1899 : 6 (0, 0, 6)
1899 : 2 (0, 0, 2)
1896 : 3 (0, 0, 3)
1892 : 1 (0, 0, 1)
DECADE 1889 : 2 (0, 0, 2)
1889 : 2 (0, 0, 2)

 

[honestbharani]

Nice work. They were obviously the best in the world post the Aussie domination era for a good while IMO.

 

[Marius]

SA cricket is so poked.

Cricket South Africa to unveil aggressive transformation plans

No suggestions of an increased quota, but focus on including more black African players in the national sides

www.espncricinfo.com

 

[SeamUp]

Nice work. They were obviously the best in the world post the Aussie domination era for a good while IMO.

Yeah, it was a fun era set up by Mickey Arthur. Felt we were the best because we were the most adaptable to varying conditions.

 

[SeamUp]

SA cricket is so poked.

Cricket South Africa to unveil aggressive transformation plans

No suggestions of an increased quota, but focus on including more black African players in the national sides

www.espncricinfo.com

So frustrating seeing this but in truth my cricket interest has started to wane for a while now. This could be a final nail in the coffin if we regularly lose because we put out teams that aren't our best. I can't believe how current ratios can be enforced upon. Luckily this has co-incided with less test/ODI cricket because those are the formats I'm interested in and contributes to me making my decision easier.

 

[StephenZA]

Thami Tsolekile bombshell: CSA in 'secret talks' to overturn match-fixing ban

Former Proteas wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile may make a sensational return to cricket following apparent “secret talks” to have his 12-year ban for his involvement in match-fixing overturned.

www.timeslive.co.za

This would pretty much put the nail in SA cricket. This decision being as corrupt as possible for political gain.

 

[Dendarii]

I'm hoping that there's nothing in that story. It could be that Tsolekile approached CSA to try to overturn his ban and they felt it was better to let him go through whatever the process might be rather than it come out later that they refused him the opportunity, making them look bad on top of all the other things they've got going on that make them look bad. In which case "secret talks" is really an attempt at creating a headline.

Otherwise I agree that it wouldn't be a good move.

 

[StephenZA]

It could be nothing, and I hope its nothing but some sort of procedure, but watching the politics within CSA (and the rest of the country) just makes you wonder.

 

[SeamUp]

Thami Tsolekile bombshell: CSA in 'secret talks' to overturn match-fixing ban

Former Proteas wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile may make a sensational return to cricket following apparent “secret talks” to have his 12-year ban for his involvement in match-fixing overturned.

www.timeslive.co.za

This would pretty much put the nail in SA cricket. This decision being as corrupt as possible for political gain.

Some people used the BLM for their own gain when they really had no foot to stand on. Or to knock others due to their own failures or inefficiencies. Tsolekile was one of them. Which is so disappointing to the original intentions of the message.

Realistically I couldn't see SACA getting involved in this in any way.

 

[Marius]

According to the article part of the reason Thami wants his ban overturned is so that he can work in cricket again - article says he hasn't had a steady income for four years. So, while I also think it would be a bad idea perhaps it is not so sinister.

 

[SeamUp]

England are meant to be here in under a month and still no fixtures released.

I reckon there is a chance this tour may not happen with what is going on at CSA.

 

[StephenZA]

England are meant to be here in under a month and still no fixtures released.

I reckon there is a chance this tour may not happen with what is going on at CSA.

With SA infection rate still pretty high, any attempts at isolation bubbles would be difficult, particularly with the inability of CSA to organise a piss-up in a brewery; and with England under potential imminent lockdown I can't see it happening. Everything is against any tour occurring.

 

[SeamUp]

With SA infection rate still pretty high, any attempts at isolation bubbles would be difficult, particularly with the inability of CSA to organise a piss-up in a brewery; and with England under potential imminent lockdown I can't see it happening. Everything is against any tour occurring.

CSA were relying on it massively too. Were set to make 70m from a few white-ball games.

 

[SeamUp]

It’s a go! Government gives England cricket tour to SA the green light

While Minister Mthethwa is angry with the organisation’s administrators he also understands what the financial implications would be for the sport in general in this country.

www.iol.co.za

 

[StephenZA]

We can only hope.