Transformation hampers Proteas selection
The selection of the Proteas team to face England at Newlands will be heavily influenced by CSA's transformation targets.
|||Johannesburg – The selection of the Proteas team to face England in the second Test at Newlands, in Cape Town, on Saturday, will be heavily influenced by the transformation targets instituted by Cricket SA.
South Africa have a target of four players of colour in their side and are advised to include one black African. In the first Test which South Africa lost by 241 runs, batsman Temba Bavuma was the black African player.
Now with the shoulder injury to Dale Steyn placing him in doubt for the match, Kagiso Rabada is a hot favourite to come into the team as the tearaway fast bowler. And with Rabada in the team, it means South Africa would have already fielded a black African. Bavuma scored 10 and 0 in his two innings in Durban, and should make way for Quinton de Kock who will also don the wicketkeeping gloves if he plays to relieve AB de Villiers of the job.
But if the selectors decide to go with either Chris Morris or Hardus Viljoen as a replacement for Steyn, it could guarantee Bavuma his place in the side. Though he averages just over 20 in his first six matches for the Proteas, Bavuma impressed in the final Test against India in Delhi where he was asked to open the batting in place of Stiaan van Zyl. In the first innings there Bavuma batted for 1 hour and 32 minutes for his hard-fought 22. In his second innings at the top of the order, he batted even longer as he remained at the crease for 2 hours 33 minutes before he was dismissed. Those two innings showed the character he possesses, but back in South African conditions he looked out of his depth when he played a horrendous shot in each of his knocks.
Then there is JP Duminy who is in the middle of his own bad run of form. In seven innings in 2015 Duminy notched up only 98 runs. Duminy is supposed to be in the team as an allrounder, but bowled just one over during the match and does not appear to be injured. But as one of the players of colour, and one of the senior players in the side the selectors do not appear bold enough to drop the player.
And after the embarrassing loss to England midweek, coach Russell Domingo again insisted he believed his players would magically turn the corner when it’s clear a serious rethink of the starting XI would be a better idea.
African News Agency