5 biggest controversies in South African cricket

#4 The Vernon Philander selection, World Cup semi-final 2015

Vernon Philander during the 2015 World Cup

Race-related quotas have been a part of South African cricket for many years and over the years; it has given rise to a lot of controversies when a captain has had to choose a player of colour against his wishes.

However, when it allegedly happens in a World Cup semi-final and one which the team goes on to lose, then it quickly snowballs into a full-blown controversy. South Africa had planned to play the same eleven as the one that beat Sri Lanka in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final when they took on co-hosts New Zealand in the semi-final.

One of the key members of that attack was Kyle Abbott, who had returned figures of 6-1-27-1 and was definitely part of captain AB de Villiers. As everyone knows, South Africa lost the semi-final narrowly but later on De Villiers wrote in his autobiography that he got a call from Cricket South Africa officials on the evening of the eve of the game and was told that Philander would play instead of Abbott.

De Villiers wrote, "So what had happened? Had Vernon, who was officially classified as coloured, been selected ahead of Kyle, who was officially white, to ensure there were four players of colour in the semi-final? Or had the decision been made for purely cricketing reasons?"

The former South African captain added that Philander’s figures of 8-052-0 were not solely to blame for the loss in the semi-final. However, the die had been cast and a controversy that had erupted right after South Africa’s loss was given further fuel. At the time, a Cricket South Africa official had denied making such a request.