Proteas finally get the balance right

[fLIP]

February 12, 2008 SOUTH Africa announced their squad to tour Bangladesh after a week of disagreements among the country's cricket officials.

The squad, which is scheduled to leave for Bangladesh on Wednesday, was due to have been named last Tuesday.

Disputes between the selectors and the president of Cricket South Africa (CSA), Norman Arendse, who is required to approve the squad, held up the process.

CSA's transformation policy sets a target of seven black players in a squad of 15. However, the squad presented to Arendse last week – and finally issued by the CSA – contained only four black players.

"The players believe that the integrity of the selection process has been kept intact by the fact that the squad for Bangladesh is in fact the squad selected by the selectors," the chief executive of the South African Cricketers' Association, Tony Irish, said.

Arendse wanted less experienced players to be given an opportunity against minnows Bangladesh, while the selectors wanted a full-strength squad to adjust to sub-continental conditions ahead of South Africa's tour of India that will follow their visit to Bangladesh.

The dispute reached crisis proportions on Saturday when CSA's general council, cricket's highest authority in South Africa, sacked coach Mickey Arthur as a selector.

Arthur was hastily re-instated after the intervention of CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, who pointed out that Arthur's status as a selector was stipulated in his contract.

Arendse has also asked the general council to investigate charges of bringing the game into disrepute against Arthur for comments attributed to him in the media.

 

[fLIP]

I guess the question here is, when will racist/ opressive Australia allow black people to participate equally in sports?

Should we introduce guidelines to make sure equal rights are upheld in sport?

 

[Matabele]

I guess the question here is, when will racist/ opressive Australia allow black people to participate equally in sports?

Should we introduce guidelines to make sure equal rights are upheld in sport?

  Would that be to give the white fellas a fair go in sport?  I think you'll find in AFL and the rugby codes the aborigine representation is higher than their post-genocide proportion in the Australian population.  Cricket is a different matter I suppose.  Does Johnston have a touch of the tar brush?

 

[byso]

That’s discrimination against the whites that maybe better players than the blacks that were bought in to make of the numbers of 7.

Shouldn't the best players be selected in national sides?

 

[Matabele]

Shouldn't the best players be selected in national sides?

  Yes.  But they were weeks away from bringing in an edict that the Springboks and Super 14 sides had to have 12 players of colour in their starting XV to reflect the national population.  It would have made the Super 14 and Tri-Nations a cakewalk for the Aussie and NZ sides and would have seen European rugby flooded with Sarfie WASPs.

On the bright side it might have meant Australia could field a side with two propos capable of propping up a scrum.

 

[Fro]

In Aus The indigenous population is a minority, in RSA it is not.

Here black kids dont see much fun in standing round a field all day, I can see their point although I play it myself. The last aboriginal kid I played cricket was George Roses brother actually (and yes I know that is useless information)

Black kids in this country much prefer playing footy in all codes.

Yes Matas Mitchell Johnson does have some aboriginal blood in him, the last big name before him was Gillespie.

That discounts Symonds of course who was Born of West Indian descent.

 

[Matabele]

Gillespie being the first of indigenous blood to represent the Test XI as I understand it?

 

[Fro]

I think thats right Matas, there was a team of aboriginal cricketers toured England in the 1860's but it wasnt a recognised "test" team.

I think Gillespie is the first to have been acknowledged as aboriginal, thought there may have been others that played and didnt acknowledge it