Barry Richards questions South Africa's selection policy

What’s the story?

South African legend Barry Richards has cast doubt on Cricket South Africa’s selection policy of racial transformation claiming that it may be preventing meritorious players from getting picked for the national side.

Though Richards admitted that the policy has been introduced with best interests, he wonders whether the way it is being implemented is doing more harm than good.

“From day one, when I came to play county cricket and I first met Garry Sobers, people like that, picking a team was on merit, I’ve always been of that opinion,” said Richards. “The transformation policy, I can see what they are trying to achieve, but whether they achieve the end goal of a merit selection remains to be seen.”

Richards also believes that the move has also played a part in the likes of Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw signing Kolpak deals with English county side Hampshire and the 71-year-old fears that South Africa could lose their bench strength if more players opt to take that route.

“If those guys are saying we don’t like it because we might not be part of the set-up, that’s something else you’ve got to factor into how you implement transformation,” he said. “It’s a problem and I’m not sure they (CSA) quite know what the solution is just yet.”

The background

The transformation policy was implemented by the CSA in 2016 and stipulates the inclusion of six players of colour, of which at least two must be black African, on an average in the playing XI over a season.

While the move was made with an intent to ensure that the sport remains accessible to all in a nation with a past history of racial discrimination, many have questioned the merits of the decision and Richards is the latest high profile cricketer to join the fray.

The details

Richards himself saw his Test career restricted to just four matches as South Africa was frozen out by the international sporting community for the system of apartheid which was rampant until 1991 before the nation became an independent one under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.

Richards admits that the country’s past has played a part in the need for implementing some sort of policy to ensure that persons of colour are no longer discriminated and accepted in all walks of life, though he wonders whether the cricket team is suffering as a result.

The likes of Andile Phehlukwayo and Temba Bavuma have benefitted from the policy and warranted their selection with good performances but the same cannot be said for a number of other coloured cricketers.

South Africa crashed out of the 2017 Champions Trophy at the group stage itself while they head into the Test leg of the tour of England having lost both the ODI and T20 series 2-1.

The team also faces an uncertain period with coach Russel Domingo set to make an exit following the Test series against England while AB de Villiers could also quit Test cricket in his bid to extend his career in the limited-overs formats of the game.

Extra Cover: AB de Villiers to take a call on his cricket future in August

What’s next?

With the CSA remaining committed to the transformation policy, Richard’s words would hardly make an impact. But if bad results continue to pile up, they could be forced to have a rethink or at least make some modifications in the policy.

For the moment though, their attention will be on picking a new head coach with Richard Pybus and Rob Walter the early front-runners to succeed Domingo.

Author’s take

Barry Richards makes a lot of important observations regarding the transformation policy but as the legend himself said, it is a hugely contentious issue considering South Africa’s past. The Kolpak players have not stated that it played a part in their decision to leave behind their international careers but is hard to think otherwise.

Selection should only be made on merit though and to think that someone got his place in the side due to his colour is not something that should happen at any point in time.