Proteas transformation: Walter admits system needs work, with one black African in World Cup squad

Though he insists he will only pick players on merit for a World Cup tournament, national limited overs coach Rob Walter admits something needs to be done to develop and provide opportunities for black cricketers in South Africa.

Announcing the 15-man Proteas squad on Tuesday for the T20 World Cup in The United States and the West Indies in June, Walter revealed that only one black African player – fast bowler Kagiso Rabada – had been selected.

And while the squad also included six other players of colour, the selection did not come anywhere close to matching the demographics of the country, which has a population of more than 80% black African people.

“My number one imperative is to create a winning Proteas team. In order to do that, every time I pick a side I’ve got to pick the best team at the time that will give us a chance of doing that,” said Walter, who was given full control in selecting the squad.

Previous World Cups

At the previous edition of the T20 World Cup, held in Australia in 2022, the SA squad included three black African players – Temba Bavuma, Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada – as well as four other players of colour.

At last year’s 50-over World Cup in India, the squad (also selected by Walter) featured four black African players – Bavuma, Ngidi, Rabada and Andile Phehlukwayo – and four other players of colour.

With the numbers of black Africans dropping for the upcoming edition of the global showpiece in the short format, Walter acknowledged that something needed to be done to prevent this from happening again.

Better system needed

“The system really needs to up the ante so that in six months, 12 months or two years time – and in particular when we reach the 2027 World Cup at home – the demographics and the representation in our team looks a bit different,” Walter said.

“So outside of the World Cup we’ll continue to use our bilateral series to do exactly that, to grow our base of players and create international opportunities for players to pit their skills at a higher level, and just make sure we have bought in and are delivering on a process that’s going to change what our team looks like as we move forward.”