George Linde omission: Time for CSA to stop taking fans for fools

Nothing damages a relationship more than dishonesty and Cricket South Africa should bear that in mind when it comes to their relationship with Proteas fans, who have already had to put up with so much.

The selection of World Cup squads has always been controversial simply because everyone has their own favourite cricketers who they believe should be in the team. But the announcement this week of the squad for the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates next month has caused uproar because CSA have taken their fans to be fools.

George Linde, who has played in 14 of South Africa’s last 18 T20 Internationals – and done really well, was omitted from the squad of 15. The two orthodox left-arm spinners chosen, Bjorn Fortuin and Keshav Maharaj, have played just six and zero matches respectively over the same period. Linde is also the best batsman of the three.

Convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang struggled to provide cogent reasons for why Linde, who has taken 15 wickets and has an economy rate of just 7.08, has suddenly been leapfrogged and I have yet to see any valid cricketing reasons put forward for the decision.

The elephant in the room – as it always seems to be – is quotas. For at least the last decade, no Proteas squad has gone to a World Cup with less than seven black players. Which is the exact number chosen this time around too.

Where the public was taken for fools was when Mpitsang said “there just happens to be seven players of colour” and when director of cricket Graeme Smith said “no policy was given to the selection panel”.

I get that the likes of Smith, Mpitsang, coach Mark Boucher and captain Temba Bavuma are caught between a rock and a hard place. Do they acknowledge that there is a quota to meet and risk undermining any fragile psyches among the players or do they pretend like nothing’s going on and alienate the public?

ALSO READ: Fortuin in, Linde out: Mpitsang explains World Cup selection

CSA’s new board need to be honest and come out and say what is more important for them: Ensuring the Proteas tick certain boxes when it comes to demographics or ensuring the very best combinations can go out and be competitive on the ruthless international stage.

Of course transformation and winning are not mutually exclusive – the Springboks have shown that. But when it comes to selecting between someone who has spent the last year meeting all expectations in his role or another player who has always been behind him in the pecking order, the colour of skin really should not come into it.

As much as some people want to ignore quotas, they are there. Denial is not going to stop that realisation seeping into the changeroom either.

After the Proteas lost the ODI series against Sri Lanka, what do you think the first question was in the post-match press conference with Boucher? Was it about the failure of the batting line-up or whether two seam-bowling all-rounders was the right selection?

It was neither.

“Are you happy with the balance of the side in terms of transformation?” was the first question. If the most pressing issue for the media is that only five players of colour were selected, including just two Black Africans (Bavuma and Lungi Ngidi were both unavailable), then why can’t CSA just be honest about quotas?

The CSA Board hire people to do a cricketing job but then also expect them to ensure political objectives are met, without ever talking about those “targets”. (What a euphemism that is as Ashwell Prince found out when he missed his “target” once as Cape Cobras coach and was immediately hauled before a disciplinary hearing).

Just in case there is any doubt, I am a huge Maharaj fan and his T20 debut is overdue, plus he provides valuable leadership to the squad. I am also a Fortuin fan, but it is going to be hard on him to replicate Linde’s role at a World Cup given how few T20 Internationals he has had the opportunity to play in.