Abbot-Philander World Cup Selection Controversy

[Tibarn]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/story/1052705.html

 

Quote

AB de Villiers regards the 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand as the "greatest disappointment" of his cricket career and believes there could have been "other considerations" in the selection of the XI that took the field for that match last March.

The revelation that racial dynamics played a role in Vernon Philander being selected ahead of Kyle Abbott came in the aftermath of the tournament and was confirmed by CSA, who said transformation targets were part of pre-match discussions, but this is the first time any of the players involved in the match has spoken out.

...

That team included three players of colour in Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Imran Tahir. Throughout the tournament South Africa had played between three and five players of colour in their matches and had not received instruction on any specific number. At 5:30pm on the night before the semi-final, half an hour before South Africa's team meeting, de Villiers got a call - he does not say from whom - to tell him that Philander had passed a fitness test earlier and would play instead of Abbott.

Quote

In contemplating the possbility that there was a quota at play, de Villiers recalls the team's understanding of the situation at that stage. "We had been assured that Cricket South Africa was the only national governing body in the country that had declined to set a target for the number of players of colour to be included in the national team but there was a delicate balance to be struck and it was generally understood that, as they chose the side, the national selectors would be conscious of providing opportunities for at least four players of colour.

"So what had happened? Had Vernon, who was officially classified as coloured, been selected ahead of Kyle, who was officially white, to ensure there were four players of colour in the semi-final? Or had the decision been made for purely cricketing reasons?

I dived into the numbers a bit to get some perspective. Viewing overall ODI career stats, Philander was clearly a level better than Abbott:

Philander's ODI stats:

Career averages

	Span	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
overall	2007-2015	30	28	213.1	20	986	41	4/12	24.04	4.62	31.1	2	0

Abbott's ODI stats:

 

Career averages

	Span	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
overall	2013-2016	26	25	199.1	12	963	28	4/21	34.39	4.83	42.6	1	0

 

On the other hand, the WC2015 numbers were the complete opposite:

Overall figures

Player	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
Imran Tahir	8	8	76.2	5	323	15	5/45	21.53	4.23	30.5	1	1
DW Steyn	8	8	68.5	7	346	11	3/30	31.45	5.02	37.5	0	0
M Morkel	8	8	68.1	4	299	17	3/34	17.58	4.38	24.0	0	0
JP Duminy	6	6	35.0	2	202	6	3/29	33.66	5.77	35.0	0	0
KJ Abbott	4	4	31.0	1	130	9	4/21	14.44	4.19	20.6	1	0
VD Philander	4	4	28.3	2	135	4	2/30	33.75	4.73	42.7	0	0

Looking at the numbers of all the main South African bowlers, Abbott turns out to be arguably the best pacer in the side, and Philander arguably the worst. They played 4 matches a piece. 

 

Looking at the semifinal vs NZ:

Among the pacers, Philander turned out to have the best economy rate, but went wicketless.

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ	0s	4s	6s
	DW Steyn	8.5	0	76	1	8.60	25	7	4
	VD Philander	8	0	52	0	6.50	28	7	2
	M Morkel	9	0	59	3	6.55	30	9	1

 

A couple of questions arise:

1) Was Abbott replaced by Philander because of race/quota?

2) Would Abbott have played better in the SF vs NZ?

3) Did this quota selection cost SA a chance to break the curse and finally win a WC?

 

What do you guys think?

 

[Adi_91]

I don't think SA could have won by playing Abbott. They should have taken their catches and then they might have won.

 

But,the world cup firm contenders were Aus since they were playing belligerent cricket.

[rkt.india]

yes, conditions in Aus and NZ favored tall pacer Abbott more than Philander. 

[Bigg Brother]

Abbot peeformed well in wc..There wasn't any reason choosing Philander over Abbot.Philander isnt great odi bowler either.

[diga]

For the flat pitches without swing , it was a no brainer to choose Abbot over Philander

[gakgupta]

1 hour ago, Tibarn said:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/story/1052705.html

 

I dived into the numbers a bit to get some perspective. Viewing overall ODI career stats, Philander was clearly a level better than Abbott:

Philander's ODI stats:

Career averages

	Span	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
overall	2007-2015	30	28	213.1	20	986	41	4/12	24.04	4.62	31.1	2	0

Abbott's ODI stats:

 

Career averages

	Span	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
overall	2013-2016	26	25	199.1	12	963	28	4/21	34.39	4.83	42.6	1	0

 

On the other hand, the WC2015 numbers were the complete opposite:

Overall figures

Player	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
Imran Tahir	8	8	76.2	5	323	15	5/45	21.53	4.23	30.5	1	1
DW Steyn	8	8	68.5	7	346	11	3/30	31.45	5.02	37.5	0	0
M Morkel	8	8	68.1	4	299	17	3/34	17.58	4.38	24.0	0	0
JP Duminy	6	6	35.0	2	202	6	3/29	33.66	5.77	35.0	0	0
KJ Abbott	4	4	31.0	1	130	9	4/21	14.44	4.19	20.6	1	0
VD Philander	4	4	28.3	2	135	4	2/30	33.75	4.73	42.7	0	0

Looking at the numbers of all the main South African bowlers, Abbott turns out to be arguably the best pacer in the side, and Philander arguably the worst. They played 4 matches a piece. 

 

Looking at the semifinal vs NZ:

Among the pacers, Philander turned out to have the best economy rate, but went wicketless.

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ	0s	4s	6s
	DW Steyn	8.5	0	76	1	8.60	25	7	4
	VD Philander	8	0	52	0	6.50	28	7	2
	M Morkel	9	0	59	3	6.55	30	9	1

 

A couple of questions arise:

1) Was Abbott replaced by Philander because of race/quota?

2) Would Abbott have played better in the SF vs NZ?

3) Did this quota selection cost SA a chance to break the curse and finally win a WC?

 

What do you guys think?

 

Pls dont with the stats....

Abbot was in a killer form (bowling better than steryn) in that series....

He would have made all the difference

[Tibarn]

10 hours ago, gakgupta said:

Pls dont with the stats....

Abbot was in a killer form (bowling better than steryn) in that series....

He would have made all the difference

I only used the stats for some perspective. As I showed, Abbott was their best pace bowler in the World Cup. 

 

One could argue that SA dropped their best bowler, in maybe their biggest ODI match in history, for a diversity quota. I wonder what South Africa fans feel about this.

[chewy]

this is what is always scary about South Africa, in India we always have conspiracies regarding regionalism, but despite enforced with black quotas South Africa are still one of the best sides around. 

 

At one point they could have had Graeme Smith, Kallis, Trott, Pietersen, ABDV playing in Tests or ODI, that's some line-up 

[G_B_]

Good post OP

 

As far as I can remember, Philander did not bowl at the death (i could be wrong) and hence his figures appear to be better. Abbot was the choice based on merit.

[MCcricket]

Quota in sports is ridiculous , sports always has to be merit based as should education, yes blacks should be given priority or backward classes by guidance, financial, coaching, but team n squad Should be chosen on merit, SA will become Kenya or Similar in future

[Tibarn]

6 hours ago, G_B_ said:

Good post OP

 

As far as I can remember, Philander did not bowl at the death (i could be wrong) and hence his figures appear to be better. Abbot was the choice based on merit.

Nice catch, you are right: http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/engine/match/656491.html?innings=1;view=commentary

His 8th over was the 27th of the NZ innings. The match finished in the 43rd. In the last 10 overs, 4 bowlers were used: Steyn, Morkel, Tahir, and AB de Villiers who bowled 2 overs.  

 

If that isn't damning, I don't know what is. AB didn't have confidence to bowl Philander for the final 16 overs of the match, despite NZ being supposedly good conditions for his bowling. I am sure Abbott would have bowled in that span, if he played.

 

This was clearly a quota selection IMO. This move may have cost SA a World Cup. I can see why AB was rumored to be considering retiring.       

[MK55]

Abbot was probably better but would be a bit of an exaggeration if we associate the SF loss to this selection.
They shouldn't have dropped easy catches at crucial times. Steyn was hopelessly bad at the death and may be Abbot could have also replaced him. Also, Abbot isn't the kind of an bowler who's expected to make a noteworthy impact.
Anyways, SA wasn't that good of an ODI side in the WC as they thought they were. Heard some of their guys proclaim that they felt they were the only side that could challenge AUS. And this after losing to India and PAK in the group stages.  
Looking at their current side, bowling and lower order batting seems to have strengthened with Rabada and Morris. Batting on the other hand is on a decline.     

[G_B_]

yeah steyn really choked in a big way when it mattered. Again from what I remember Tahir had NZ under control. Steyn just gave it away. He was predictable and on those small NZ grounds with his pace he was a sitting duck. Had a mini meltdown at the end. 

 

AB himself has a habit of throwing it away in WC games when his team needs him. So i feel while Abbot was the choice based on merit, AB has had a long enough career to know when he looks in the mirror that he has not really stepped up on most occasions when it mattered. 

 

Seems to me he wants to sell books. Editors might have spiced it up.

 

Even if they would have beaten Nz, Aus at home would have mostly beaten them with ease. Aus were on another level in Australia. So its not as if SA were playing some excellent cricket. They were just about ok in the group stages. Did enough there. 

 

Under AB I feel SA had their chances in the 2009 T20 World cup. Blew their chances in a comical fashion in the semi

 

http://www.espncricinfo.com/wt202009/engine/match/356015.html

 

That was one tournament I remember SA had played the best cricket. They dominated the two group stages. Played like 5 matches before and won all 5. 4 with ease and 1 match v NZ when Steyn bowled a brilliant last over in the group stages.

 

 

Edited September 3, 2016 by G_B_

[rkt.india]

NZ had required 12 of 6 and it was very much gettable that most bowlers wont defend these days.

[Crookbond]

On September 2, 2016 at 5:48 AM, Adi_91 said:

I don't think SA could have won by playing Abbott. They should have taken their catches and then they might have won.

 

But,the world cup firm contenders were Aus since they were playing belligerent cricket.

That's exactly what ABDV says as well.

 

Quote

South Africa lost the match on the final ball and de Villiers blamed the defeat on their failure to take "five clear opportunities ... three possible run-outs and two catches", and not on the selection saga. "We didn't lose because of the decision to replace Kyle with Vernon," he writes.