How Cricket SA bosses forced De Villiers to play Philander

[BeautifulGame]

Cricket SA‘s board hung Vernon Philander out to dry by demanding his selection for the World Cup semifinal, making captain AB de Villiers reluctant to play in the match, say sources close to the Proteas. A selector said the panel “had to okay four players of colour†for last Tuesday‘s semifinal, in which Philander was thrust in from the cold after an injury lay-off to play alongside Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir and JP Duminy. “AB didn‘t want to play in the semi because of this; it is a clear case of interference by the board — they ordered Philander‘s selection,†said a well-placed source who declined to be named. “It was a purely political decision. The players are fuming about it but they won‘t say so.†De Villiers could not be reached for comment. Tony Irish, chief executive of the SA Cricketers‘ Association, refused to comment. “I will be talking to the players [today] when they get back [from Australasia],†he said. If the claims are true, a star bowler who has taken 121 wickets in only 29 Tests has been cynically undermined. Philander has earned every nugget of his success but being drafted into one of the most important matches in South Africa‘s one-day history in this way makes him look like a player who has benefited from being black. The other factor is that Kyle Abbott was denied an opportunity he deserved — and which possibly cost South Africa a place in yesterday‘s final. Abbott was the Proteas‘ best bowler in the tournament in terms of average, economy rate and strike rate. The Philander fandango was danced as Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula warned at the weekend that CSA and the SA Rugby Union faced expulsion from official South African sport if they failed to deliver on agreed transformation targets. “We will ...withdraw national colours; we will ensure that we deregister those that are intransigent,†he warned. The SA Cricketers‘ Association is also “considering our legal options†following a claim that CSA‘s board unilaterally raised the quota for players of colour in provincial franchise teams from five to six. CSA denied that Philander‘s inclusion in the semi-final was to fill a quota. “Team management could perhaps be in a better position to respond to your query. I have not in the past interfered with the selection of the team and I do not intend to do so in the future. We have always emphasised that national team selection must be on merit,†said CSA president Chris Nenzani. CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: “There was and is no political interference in our selections. We have a selection panel that includes the coach and independent members, and this panel selected all the teams at the World Cup in the same way that they did before the World Cup.†Team doctor and manager Mohammed Moosajee said he was “not aware of political selection or interferenceâ€. Moosajee explained that: “The selector on tour generally selects the team (the starting XI), obviously with the input of the coach and the captain. There is always a selector on tour,†said Moosajee. Convenor of selectors Andrew Hudson failed to return The Times‘s call. Despite CSA‘s insistence that it had not interfered in national team selections, there is a precedent. In 2001, the then United Cricket Board president, Percy Sonn, personally overruled the selection of Northern Transvaal left-handed batsman Jacques Rudolph in the Test team to play Australia and demanded that he be replaced by Boland‘s Justin Ontong. Reports from Australia claimed that South Africa‘s captain on that tour, Shaun Pollock, was still uncertain of the composition of his team 15 minutes before he walked out for the toss. — Additional reporting by Nivashni Nair and David Isaacson http://www.rdm.co.za/sport/2015/03/30/how-cricket-sa-bosses-forced-de-villiers-to-play-philander Pathetic if true

[BeautifulGame]

Cape Town - Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat reportedly told Proteas coach Russell Domingo via SMS to pick an extra player of colour in the team for their Cricket World Cup semi-final against New Zealand last week. Netwerk24 reports that Lorgat SMS’ed Domingo at 01:00 New Zealand time the morning of the game. Lorgat apparently told Domingo to choose between dropping Rilee Rossouw and picking Farhaan Behardien, or dropping Kyle Abbott for Vernon Philander. Domingo and captain AB de Villiers wanted Abbott to play, but Lorgat refused to sign off the team if it consisted of only three players of colour - Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Imran Tahir. After discussing the issue at length with captain AB de Villiers, they decided to keep Rossouw and drop Abbott. De Villiers and Philander were believed to be furious and refused to play, but were forced to face the Kiwis at Eden Park. Cricket South Africa strongly denied these reports on Monday, but sources close to the Proteas camp confirmed to Netwerk24 that it was indeed what transpired. Lorgat said he had never heard such “nonsense” during his tenure as team administrator, while sports minister Fikile Mbalula also denied influencing team selection in any way. "We know who are spreading these speculations and we will not dignify them by mentioning their names," Mbalula said via a statement. "These are acts of desperate colonial apartheid apologist(s)... We shall not be deterred by their mischief." Philander struggled with injury throughout the tournament and appeared unfit to play the semi-final against New Zealand, while Abbott had a stellar tournament, taking 9 wickets at an average of 14.44 (economy 4.19). Philander took 4 wickets at an average of 33.75 (economy: 4.73). New Zealand beat South Africa by 4 wickets last Tuesday to advance to the Cricket World Cup final, which they lost to Australia in Melbourne on Sunday. http://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/CricketWorldCup2015/Did-SMS-cost-Proteas-World-Cup-20150331

[CG]

i see no other reason,how can u drop your inform bowler.

[BlueBee]

i see no other reason' date='how can u drop your inform bowler.[/quote'] +1

[MCGGG]

SA Needed a fresh way to get kicked out of a WC, this was it, tell me this country isn't cursed.

[f.b.m]

They should've dropped Steyn based on form. That would fulfill his childhood dream of being the next Allan Donald.

[CoverDrive]

sad if true. these kind of things really puts the whole team in pressure including the player being benefited like philander

[Precambrian]

I don't understand. Philander had every right to play the final match based on his performance and potential. Further his eco rate was the best in that SF. SA did not fail that match due to playing Philander.

[bulbul]

I don't understand. Philander had every right to play the final match based on his performance and potential. Further his eco rate was the best in that SF. SA did not fail that match due to playing Philander.

What? unless they play 5 bowlers how can you play a guy who was injured a match abck and his replacement was the best bowler for SA :cantstop:

[mancalledsting]

this is south africa's go to excuse when they lose- "oh it's all the quota systems fault". a bit like pakistan and the match fixing excuse

[Tiger80]

They should've dropped Steyn based on form. That would fulfill his childhood dream of being the next Allan Donald.

You cannot drop bowler like Steyn

[Tiger80]

this is south africa's go to excuse when they lose- "oh it's all the quota systems fault". a bit like pakistan and the match fixing excuse

This is not excuse but bitter truth. In 2007 there team had old black players like Telemachus rather than upcoming Steyn or Morkel

[G_B_]

Sa have been very lucky that in test matches atleast they have decent non white players. In this case they are being so pedantic. They already had 3 players in there. Lost a lot of respect for Lorgart in this.

[Sachinism]

They should've dropped Steyn based on form. That would fulfill his childhood dream of being the next Allan Donald.

This!! Especially if they're going to go along with this stupid decision. As good as Steyn is, Abbott should have been playing ahead of him.

[Marut]

An excuse a WC keeps critics at bay.

[nic007]

As a South African I can tell you politics are ALWAYS involved. It's a small miracle that we are still rank amongst the best sides. The players bear additional off the field pressure. Don't be surprised if SA slide down the rankings in a various of sports codes in the next decade as the target for quota of players of colour is gradually set higher and higher and actually being enforced. Merit and quality as the only yard stick has long been thrown out of the window and it's getting worse.

[amiret]

I KNEW IT !! :mad: They kept out Abbot .

[Marut]

As a South African I can tell you politics are ALWAYS involved. It's a small miracle that we are still rank amongst the best sides. The players bear additional off the field pressure. Don't be surprised if SA slide down the rankings in a various of sports codes in the next decade as the target for quota of players of colour is gradually set higher and higher and actually being enforced. Merit and quality as the only yard stick has long been thrown out of the window and it's getting worse.

Sad.