Cricket transformation is up and running

THE Proteas fielding eight players of colour in their 47-run win over Australia in Guyana on Tuesday proves that transformation does not compromise results, former Cricket SA president Mtutuzeli Nyoka says.

Cricket SA were one of the sports federations that got stick from Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula, who barred them — with Athletics SA, Netball SA and SA Rugby — from bidding for international events.

Cricket SA were mainly criticised for not having transformation targets for their flagship team, the Proteas. And for those teams in which they did, they fell short. But after Tuesday’s starting line-up and performance, it appears they are on the mend. Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, man-of-the-match Farhaan Behardien, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir and Wayne Parnell were the unprecedented eight.

Nyoka was one of the biggest drivers of transformation in cricket during his time as an administrator from 1998 to 2011.

"The debate about standards and transformation is superfluous, if not disingenuous," I watched the game and it was more evidence that transformation hasn’t weakened any of our teams. If anything, the opposite is true.

"Many of our best achievements, including defeating the Aussies twice in a Test series in their own backyard, have taken place in the transformation era," Nyoka said. "The under-19 World Cup-winning side that Ray Jennings coached was also one of the most transformed sides our country has had. So, henceforth, it must be full steam ahead with transformation, for all our representative sides."

The Proteas went through stormy seas regarding giving players of colour fair opportunities in 2015. A group of professional players calling themselves Black Players in Unity wrote to Cricket SA demanding answers as to why the likes of Khaya Zondo, Thami Tsolekile and Phangiso were not given a fair shot.

The Proteas’ top performer, Behardien, who ground out 62 runs from 82 balls in 109 minutes, said it was one of his most satisfying knocks. "It’s nice to get a score for the team, especially when we were 1-0 down basically after the loss to the West Indies. We never batted out our overs against the Windies. So, to be out there, to grind it out for nearly 30 overs, was pretty satisfying."

SA had set a target of 190, but the Australians were restricted by the bowling of Rabada, Parnell, Tahir and Phangiso. The match was also the first in which SA fielded three specialist spinners — Phangiso, Tahir and Shamsi.