Cape Argus

Cricket SA compiles a good score in transformi­ng the national team

- Stuart Hess

CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA is comfortabl­e that it has achieved its transforma­tion targets and that this will get government approval when they submit a report to the Eminent Persons Group on Transforma­tion in Sport next month.

The Proteas bring the curtain down on their internatio­nal season in Hamilton tomorrow where they face New Zealand in the third Test, and they will have exceeded the targets for the number of black players and black African players they were stipulated to pick over the course of the season.

“What has always been fundamenta­l to transforma­tion for us is a ‘bottom up’ approach,’ said Cricket SA’s CEO Haroon Lorgat. Following the organisati­on’s AGM last September, CSA announced new stipulatio­ns for transforma­tion for the national team, with a minimum 54% of playing opportunit­ies for all black players and 18% for black African players. Those numbers were to be measured over the course of the season across all three formats.

Ahead of the final Test against New Zealand, the figures for the season stood at 55.51% of playing opportunit­ies going to black players, while the figure for black African players stood at 19.15%. For the most part the national team has been able to include at least two black African players in the starting XI across the formats, with four the highest number in two of the T20 Internatio­nals against Sri Lanka in January.

Kagiso Rabada and Temba Bavuma have been ever-present in the Test starting side that has in addition – for the majority of the season – included four black players as well. The most black players picked in one match was eight – the final T20 against Sri Lanka.

A spokesman for the Department of Sport and Recreation said Minister Fikile Mbalula would await the final report which will be handed to the Eminent Persons Group next month – and will include data from all sports – before he commented.

In April last year, Mbalula suspended Cricket SA, SA Rugby, Athletics SA and Netball SA from hosting internatio­nal tournament­s due to their failure to meet transforma­tion targets.

Although data regarding transforma­tion targets will only be made public next month, that didn’t stop Mbalula from throwing the government’s support behind SA Rugby’s bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Meanwhile Lorgat said besides CSA’s own initiative­s bearing fruit – particular­ly this season with young players like Andile Phelukwayo and Lungi Ngidi making their mark on the internatio­nal stage – it was important in a series of meetings with the EPG last year that clarity was achieved over CSA’s transforma­tion “scorecard”.

“We spent a long time – after the last assessment – showing where there were errors on their scorecard and ours. There was a lot of constructi­ve engagement,” said Lorgat.

Cricket SA, like the other sports organisati­ons, are committed to the EPG charter until 2018/19.

“What we have achieved has not be done through luck,” said Lorgat. “The basis is from our transforma­tion indaba and we have implemente­d what was discussed there.”

 ??  ?? NEW BLOOD: Lungi Ngidi
NEW BLOOD: Lungi Ngidi

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