Your analysis raises some interesting issues. Nonetheless, it always surprises me that whenever a country is soundly beaten, the domestic competition is always used as an easy scapegoat . Not so long ago England were well beaten in Australia and everyone came trotting out blaming the state of country cricket for the malaise of the England national side. Not even two years later, England is taking the cricket world by storm with its 'bazzball' style cricket. What happened within such a short space of time? Did the state of county cricket suddenly improve?
We forget that despite our own 'broken' domestic competition, the Proteas were on the cusp of winning the much-vaunted England cricket team in their own backyard before we threw it away with some bad selection decisions for the second test.
There are some brilliant talent in the domestic league with averages in their 40s who are being overlooked because of an antiquated selection policy. Why was someone like Janneman Malan with a first class average of 48 overlooked as a test opener ahead of Sarel Erwee who boasts a domestic average of only 38? How long must Raynard van Tonder have to wait before he gets an opportunity in any of the national sides?
If I must point out a weakness of the current system it is that we are not producing enough good quality black batsmen that can make it in the domestic league and at test level. I would love to see a 'Brian Lara' emerging from the dusty townships in the Eastern Cape or Gauteng - the impact this would have on the black youth of our country would simply be phenomenal.
I think I did point out that there are a couple of selection issues. However, it is important (in case you missed it) that I repeat that I did not sit down and decided that these are the issues. I consulted with players and players representatives, with SACA, whom the players asked for a report on the game. The players themselves asked for this review in October 2022. The report is expected sometime this year. I also consulted with the coaches.
So, this is not players reacting to the hammering in Australia. These are concerns. The first class system has problems.
The transformation pipeline is broken. This is one of the reasons why there are no visible black batters who look ready to carry on from Temba Bavuma and Khaya Zondo at the moment. This is another issue.
When I do these articles, I invest time in consulting with everyone concerned. The Director of Cricket himself has spoken about these issues. On more than one occasion he has shared that the pipeline needs to be strengthened.
Thanks CS, very interesting, well written and important article. It is great that players and SACA are taking action. Also great that journalists like yourself are writing about it and investigating. Lets hope that things improve!
Hi Chiwanza
Your analysis raises some interesting issues. Nonetheless, it always surprises me that whenever a country is soundly beaten, the domestic competition is always used as an easy scapegoat . Not so long ago England were well beaten in Australia and everyone came trotting out blaming the state of country cricket for the malaise of the England national side. Not even two years later, England is taking the cricket world by storm with its 'bazzball' style cricket. What happened within such a short space of time? Did the state of county cricket suddenly improve?
We forget that despite our own 'broken' domestic competition, the Proteas were on the cusp of winning the much-vaunted England cricket team in their own backyard before we threw it away with some bad selection decisions for the second test.
There are some brilliant talent in the domestic league with averages in their 40s who are being overlooked because of an antiquated selection policy. Why was someone like Janneman Malan with a first class average of 48 overlooked as a test opener ahead of Sarel Erwee who boasts a domestic average of only 38? How long must Raynard van Tonder have to wait before he gets an opportunity in any of the national sides?
If I must point out a weakness of the current system it is that we are not producing enough good quality black batsmen that can make it in the domestic league and at test level. I would love to see a 'Brian Lara' emerging from the dusty townships in the Eastern Cape or Gauteng - the impact this would have on the black youth of our country would simply be phenomenal.
I think I did point out that there are a couple of selection issues. However, it is important (in case you missed it) that I repeat that I did not sit down and decided that these are the issues. I consulted with players and players representatives, with SACA, whom the players asked for a report on the game. The players themselves asked for this review in October 2022. The report is expected sometime this year. I also consulted with the coaches.
So, this is not players reacting to the hammering in Australia. These are concerns. The first class system has problems.
The transformation pipeline is broken. This is one of the reasons why there are no visible black batters who look ready to carry on from Temba Bavuma and Khaya Zondo at the moment. This is another issue.
When I do these articles, I invest time in consulting with everyone concerned. The Director of Cricket himself has spoken about these issues. On more than one occasion he has shared that the pipeline needs to be strengthened.
So, no. I am not reacting to a poor run.
Thanks CS, very interesting, well written and important article. It is great that players and SACA are taking action. Also great that journalists like yourself are writing about it and investigating. Lets hope that things improve!