CSA board concerned by ‘too white’ Proteas

By Sports Writer

Proteas celebrate a wicket

Director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe, was asked to explain the racial composition of the Proteas squad for next month’s T20 World Cup to the CSA board.

With batsman Temba Bavuma being omitted, there is only one black African in the 15-man squad – fast bowler Kagiso Rabada.

There are another five players of colour in the squad, with nine white players being selected.

At the time, Proteas coach Rob Walter said he had selected the best possible squad for the T20 World Cup.

“The reality and my No 1 imperative is to create a winning Proteas team,” he explained. “In order to do that, every time I have to pick the best at the time that I think will give us a chance of doing that.

“The system really needs to up the ante so that in six months, 12 months or two years time, and particular when we reach the 2027 [ODI] World Cup at home, that we the demographics and representation in our team starts to look a bit different.”

According to Rapport newspaper, Nkwe was asked to explain to the CSA board why the squad did not meet the organization’s transformation target of 54% “generically black” players, of whom 26% are “ethnic black” players.

“The board expressed its concern about the composition of the team not meeting the targets set by CSA, but emphasized that it will not interfere in team selections,” CSA Chairman, Lawson Naidoo, told Rapport in a statement.

“CSA and all our [provincial] unions have a responsibility to ensure we have a healthy pipeline of players so that all teams can reflect our society.

“The board accepts that the various initiatives that have been pursued over the years have not produced the desired results, especially in terms of producing ethnic black players at the highest level.

“The director of cricket presented plans to the board for accelerating the development of ethnic black batting talent and a plan to secure a more representative group of players for the 2027 World Cup on home soil. The board approved these plans. ”

Source: sacricketmag.com