Africa-Press – South-Africa. Cricket SA (CSA) have confirmed the re-establishment of a national selection panel for the men’s Proteas teams by advertising for the position of convener.
The convener will be contracted for three years and according to the advertisement, will be responsible for overseeing the selection of the Proteas, SA “A” and national high-performance squads.
They will also determine which players will be nationally contracted each year.
It is the first time since Shukri Conrad was appointed head coach of the Test team that CSA will have a selection panel in place.
Director of national teams Enoch Nkwe had preferred a selection process similar to that used in rugby and football, where the head coach is ultimately responsible for choosing squads and the playing XI.
Under Conrad and Rob Walter — who resigned as coach of the Proteas’ limited-overs teams two weeks ago — selection was conducted using expertise from domestic coaches including Russell Domingo — who previously coached South Africa and Bangladesh and is now in charge of the Central Gauteng Lions.
However, despite the Proteas’ success in reaching the knockout stages of ICC events — including the final of the T20 World Cup — and qualifying the for the final of the World Test Championship, there were a number of strong voices within CSA’s administration pushing for a return to a panel of selectors.
The last panel was chaired by Victor Mpitsang and like the previous panel came in for criticism from players because there was confusion over who to ultimately consult when they were dropped and about what they needed to do to regain their place.
During the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) hearings, the confusion caused by who had ultimate say over selection — the captain, coach or chair of selectors — was raised on a number of occasions. The subsequent report by the SJN pointed out how better lines of communication had to be created to eliminate confusion among players.
But in the last two years players have privately expressed how much they appreciate having a clear line of communication with the head coach. In cases like Kyle Verreynne and Ryan Rickelton, after missing Tests under Conrad, the clarity about what was needed from them to establish themselves in the Proteas partly led to their success last season.
Temba Bavuma also stated last year that he was more involved with discussions concerning selection and player movements than at any time since taking over as captain in 2021.
From the administrative perspective however, besides greater control, there was a feeling that adherence to CSA’s transformation principles had to improve.
Kagiso Rabada was the only black African player in the T20 squad that played in last year’s World Cup, causing consternation at CSA.
Applicants have until April 29 to submit their credentials to CSA.
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