There has been reason for India to celebrate about cricket on Sunday, not only did they beat Australia in what has been one of the more controversial tours in recent history, the Under-19 side won the World cup beating South Africa by 12 runs. To read about the win down under click here. To read about the victory in the Under-19 world cup click here

Dale Steyn has been described as a weapon of mass destruction by Ntini and after picking up his 100th wicket in his 20th test it is difficult to disagree with Ntini’s statement, especially when you consider he has taken more than half his wickets in the last seven tests (this test isn’t finished yet  either!!) To see the records for the players  who have achieved 100 test wickets the fastest click here or here.

The 23 players to join the Standard Bank High performance programme have been named. They are: Ahmed Amla (Nashua Dolphins), Gulam Bodi (Nashua Titans), Loots Bosman (Gestetner Diamond Eagles), Johan Botha (Chevrolet Warriors), Henry Davids (Nashua Cape Cobras), Dillon du Preez (Gestetner Diamond Eagles), Jean-Paul Duminy (Nashua Cape Cobras), Dean Elgar (Gestetner Diamond Eagles), Matthew Harris (bizhub Highveld Lions), Imraan Khan (Nashua Dolphins), Rory Kleinveldt (Nashua Cape Cobras), Heino Kuhn (Nashua Titans), Ethy Mbhalati (Nashua Titans), Albie Morkel (Nashua Titans), Justin Ontong (bizhub Highveld Lions), Alviro Petersen (bizhub Highveld Lions), Robin Peterson (Chevrolet Warriors), Vernon Philander (Nashua Cape Cobras), Andrew Puttick (Nashua Cape Cobras), Blake Snijman (bizhub Highveld Lions), Thandi Tshabalala (Gestetner Diamond Eagles), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Chevrolet Warriors) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld (bizhub Highveld Lions).

It is interesting to note that Monde Zondeki and Faf Du Plessis are missing. These asre the two obvious exceptions from the squad I can see. The surprises in the squad are Loots Bosman and Andrew Puttick. I am a fan of Bosman but he seems to have fallen to the wayside especially after calling Mickey Arthur a liar. (See this article) Andrew Puttick didn’t cope at the top level, however the selectors must believe he has it to make a comeback into the international arena.

Zondeki has had his best seasson yet and Du Plessis has been earmarked as a future all star. The players I am pleased to see in the squad are Henry Davids, a man who had a good finish to last season and continued this season with some good knocks.  Alviro Peterson had a torrid time in the longer version of the game but has already made a 100 (so has Davids) in the limited over format. Blake Snijman is another fantastic prospect.

Arendse vetoed the squad sent to Bangladesh 3 times before Majola stamped his approval on the same squad. The government has come out and backed Arendse indicating that there should be more black players in the squad. Some would say that is fair enough there are only 4 out of 14 BUT what is the point of taking 6 players of colour when only 3 are going to play? Yes there is exposure to the international arena but surely it is better to stay behind and participate in the local league keeping match fit?
 
The only player that was unlucky to be left out was Monde Zondeki, he had a fantastic season and is really pushing for a place in the national side. He is developing and maturing as a fast bowler and should really have been picked and possibly been chosen before Ntini. However that said SA would then had 3 inexperienced youngsters opening the attack. Zondeki wouldn’t be able to replace Steyn who is now the second best bowler in the world nor Morkel who is not only developing in to a great bowler but also as an all-rounder.
  
What is sad to see if the governments point of view, the whole article can be accessed here. These are chilling extracts from Komphela who chairs the Ministry of Sport and Recreation’s Portfolio Committee. Whilst  commenting on the criticism received by Arendse he said it is “an attack on transformation in cricket”.

He also went on to say: “We must build this country through unity and through sport, we have all seen how united this country becomes as soon as one national team wins. All of us, even the president (Thabo Mbeki), supported the Springboks when they won the World Cup. People asked me ‘why’ and I said ‘they might be white, probably by accident, but they are South Africans, it doesn’t make them lesser South Africans.’
 
“But our agenda is to tell them to transform and that is not going to stop. We are unapologetic about that because the truth is very simple: we all need to feel like we have a place in the national team.”

“We are committed to having a free and fair South Africa without fear – we don’t want to create a Kenya or a Zimbabwe here – but there is a section of the community that pushes us to the limit and tries to make us regret what Nelson Mandela has done for this country, and we don’t want to regret that,” said Komphela.

“We are pleading with them not to push us that far. People say sport should not be political. Sport has always been political in South Africa, it has been used as a guillotine for black people. Now we want sport to unite people and not be what it was before.”

It will be an interesting day tomorrow, to see whether Arendse can survive the chop after appealing to the government. At the end of the day the side is one that is becoming more racially balanced but is at the moment built on merit. Every player deserves to be there, regardless of colour and there is no doubt the JP Duminy and Zondeki will soon stake their places in the team.

South Africa have at last found the replacements for the Pollock and Ntini show and they are set to be even more destructive and dangerous. 

Delhi: Virender Sehwag (icon player, earns $747,500), Dinesh Karthik ($525,000), AB de Villiers ($300,000), Daniel Vettori ($625,000), Shoaib Malik ($500,000), Mohammad Asif $650,000), Farveez Maharoof ($225,000), Tillekeratne Dilshan ($250,000), Manoj Tiwary ($675,000), Gautam Gambhir ($725,000), Glenn McGrath ($350,000).

Bangalore: Rahul Dravid (icon player, earns $1.035 million), Jacques Kallis ($900,000), Anil Kumble ($500,000), Zaheer Khan ($450,000), Mark Boucher ($450,000), Cameron White ($500,000), Wasim Jaffer ($150,000), Dale Steyn ($325,000), Nathan Bracken ($325,000), Shivnarine Chanderpaul ($200,000).

Mohali: Yuvraj Singh (icon player, earns $1.035 million), Brett Lee ($900,000), Mahela Jayawardene ($475,000), Kumar Sangakkara ($700,000), Sreesanth ($625,000), Irfan Pathan ($925,000), Ramesh Powar ($170,000), Piyush Chawla ($400,000), Simon Katich ($200,000), Ramnaresh Sarwan ($225,000).

Jaipur: Shane Warne ($450,000), Graeme Smith ($475,000), Younis Khan ($225,000), Kamran Akmal ($150,000), Yusuf Pathan ($475,000), Mohammad Kaif ($675,000), Munaf Patel ($275,000), Justin Langer ($200,000).

Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly (icon player, earns $920,000), Chris Gayle ($800,000), Shoaib Akhtar ($425,000), Ricky Ponting ($400,000), Brendon McCullum ($700,000), Ajit Agarkar ($330,000), David Hussey ($675,000), Ishant Sharma ($950,000), Murali Kartik ($425,000), Umar Gul ($150,000), Tatenda Taibu ($125,000).

Chennai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni ($1.5 million), Parthiv Patel ($325,000), Muttiah Muralitharan ($600,000), Matthew Hayden ($375,000), Jacob Oram ($675,000), Stephen Fleming ($350,000), Joginder Sharma ($225,000), Albie Morkel ($650,000), Suresh Raina ($650,000), Makhaya Ntini ($200,000), Mike Hussey ($350,000).

Hyderabad: VVS Laxman ($375,000), Herschelle Gibbs ($575,000), Adam Gilchrist ($700,000), Andrew Symonds ($1.35 million), Shahid Afridi ($675,000), Scott Styris ($175,000), Rohit Sharma ($750,000), Chamara Silva ($100,000), RP Singh ($875,000), Chaminda Vaas ($200,000), Nuwan Zoysa ($110,000).

22 Bangladesh v South Africa Test Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
29 Bangladesh v South Africa Test Bir Shrestha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium, Chittagong

March 2008

9 Bangladesh v South Africa ODI Bir Shrestha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium, Chittagong 05:30
12 Bangladesh v South Africa ODI Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur 05:30
14 Bangladesh v South Africa ODI Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur 05:30
26 India v South Africa Test MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai 06:30

April 2008

3 India v South Africa Test Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad 06:30
11 India v South Africa Test Green Park, Kanpur 06:30

I am proud that they have issued a statement apologising how things were handled. It is a mature approach not seen in other disciplines and must be commended. I will in the next few days write to cricket South africa asking for a breakdown of the transformation policies, all of which will be recorded on this website.

Cricket is obviously close to my heart as it is for many readers of my website and a transparent administration is essential for the public to have faith in the system.

The letter is below and can be found here for authenticity!!!!

Cricket is a national treasure, and all who participate in the organisation of cricket, at all levels, are entitled to free and equal access to it. In this regard, Cricket South Africa (CSA) plays a critical role in ensuring that those of our people who were previously (and unjustly) denied access to the sport, must be given every possible opportunity to participate in, and have access to, it.

Over the past week or so, cricket has been thrown into turmoil over the issue of the transformation of cricket, and in particular the selection of the national side to tour Bangladesh.

Cricket South Africa, the custodians of the sport in the country, must take full responsibility for not handling the issue in a manner that preserves the integrity and reputation of the sport. In this regard, the President and the CEO of Cricket South Africa wish to express their deep and sincere regret at the manner in which the issue leading up to the selection of the team to tour Bangladesh, has been handled. In fact, an apology to the entire nation is warranted.

Accordingly, we issue our sincerest apology to the entire nation and all its peoples for the manner in which the matter had been handled. We accept responsibility for what happened, and wish to commit ourselves to ensuring that it will never happen again.
In doing so, we reaffirm our commitment to the transformation policies of Cricket South Africa which is aimed at ensuring that the imbalances of the past are redressed as soon as possible. In this regard, we wish to record that CSA’s Transformation Review Committee is in the process of addressing these issues in a comprehensive way involving all stakeholders in the game, and have been doing so since December 2007.

We lastly wish to publicly acknowledge that mistakes were made in the process of the selection of the team, and that any finger pointing is not going to assist in restoring any damage or harm that may have been caused to the game of cricket over the recent days.

Accordingly, the President and the CEO commit to working together within the legal and constitutional structures of Cricket South Africa with a common goal and purpose, with a view towards ensuring the restoration of the good name and reputation of Cricket South Africa, and that the game is administered for the benefit of all.

Lastly, we wish to express our deep gratitude to the Minister of Sport, his Deputy, and members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport for facilitating a process which will involve CSA in the near future considering a number of issues raised by the Minister, and which also resulted in making this media release possible.

NORMAN ARENDSE: PRESIDENT
GERALD MAJOLA: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER:
CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA

Apologies links will be added in asap

Norman Arendse is the president of Cricket South Africa and he refused to approve the selectors decision over the 14 man squad for the tour to Bangladesh. “ If two of the players selected for Bangladesh are not fit and will undergo fitness tests on Monday, why don’t we wait until Monday before we announce the squad?” Arendse said, referring to Neil McKenzie and Andre Nel. This is a fair and valid point put across by the president. However he went on to state: “My role is to ensure that the CSA transformation policy is complied with.” This is where it all got messy.

Mickey Arthur’s reply to the above was: “As a coach and a selector I share Norman’s determination to push the transformation agenda but, at the same time, I want to be able to look every player in the eye and tell him: I believe you’re the best player for this position.” One wonders which team Mickey Arthur has been coaching as the team that he is in charge of regularly has players that the majority of SA will say are not the best players in that position. This statement can easily be backed up by statistics as can be seen here.

As the day progressed it came to light that Arendse had laid charges against Arthur accusing him of being “abusive and disrespectful” and “cocking a snook at his employers’ policy of (racial) transformation.” A bit later on in the day Arthur laid a counter-charge of “disrespectful and abusive behaviour” against Arendse, stating “I have no problem with transformation and I am very willing to work for transformation, however, seven players of colour in a squad of 14 is a target and not a policy.” To top off what is more than likely his last roll of the dice Arthur stated “We have sent the same squad to him (Arendse) for approval, the ball is now in his court.”

If his foot was in the proverbial grave, he certainly wasn’t scared of going 6 foot under when he indicated “Yes, there is animosity between us. I told him he was power-crazy and egotistical but I never swore at him. I can say now that he regularly sends back teams” stated Arthur which might have been to confirm the allegations that Arendse was responsible for the dropping of Kallis and Hall in the Twenty20 tournament mentioned here.

There are few people that have taken of the administration and won. Arthur has jumped on that boat and if any players want to be on board, they must be prepared for the worst, there is no fairy tale ending where the administration backs down and the good guys win.

The real solution would have been to take a side focused on transformation to Bangladesh and a more experienced side to India. It might not be the ideal solution but it would have saved Arthur the DCM (Don’t Come Monday) letter which might be in the post already.