THE proposed new cricket quota system has received the thumbs up from former top cricketers.
Cricket SA (CSA) is to make a decision on October 11 on the enforcement of a new quota system at provincial cricket level that is set to see a minimum of two black African players in the starting XI of each team in domestic competitions.
It is not expected to extend to the national team.
If passed, the proposal - tabled at a transformation indaba last month - will be implemented in the upcoming season, which coincidentally begins on the same day the CSA board will be discussing the matter.
Former players have thrown their weight behind the implementation of the proposed quota system.
"There's been talk of this happening for too long, I'm glad it looks like something will now be done," former SA test batsman Peter Kirsten said yesterday.
"Certainly, black batsmen haven't come through and maybe emphasis needs to be placed on this. Although by implementing this system two other guys will be losing out. I'm all for it."
One man who would know about the pros and cons of such a system is former SA fast bowler Mfuneko Ngam who now runs a successful academy at the University of Fort Hare nurturing young black talent.
Ngam was one of the few black African players who made it all the way to the national team after the initial quota system was implemented post-apartheid, before injury cut short his promising career.
"In the past and currently, the rule has always been there but it needed to be implemented properly," he said.
"At the moment, two players are contracted [in the provincial teams] but never play. Now they have to have two on the field, not contracted - that's good.
"If you look at last season, there were only two black players who played more than 80%, surely that is a concern."
Omar Henry, SA's first black player in modern-day cricket, indicated that although he backed the idea, there were also psychological aspects which could hinder the performances of "quota" players.
"If you look at the past, there are experiences where such a system worked and didn't work," said Henry.
"If you remember the Justin Ontong and Jacques Rudolph cases - there were plenty of issues. How a player is selected has a psychological effect. There are lessons to be learned there."
New quota deal praised
THE proposed new cricket quota system has received the thumbs up from former top cricketers.
Cricket SA (CSA) is to make a decision on October 11 on the enforcement of a new quota system at provincial cricket level that is set to see a minimum of two black African players in the starting XI of each team in domestic competitions.
It is not expected to extend to the national team.
If passed, the proposal - tabled at a transformation indaba last month - will be implemented in the upcoming season, which coincidentally begins on the same day the CSA board will be discussing the matter.
Former players have thrown their weight behind the implementation of the proposed quota system.
"There's been talk of this happening for too long, I'm glad it looks like something will now be done," former SA test batsman Peter Kirsten said yesterday.
"Certainly, black batsmen haven't come through and maybe emphasis needs to be placed on this. Although by implementing this system two other guys will be losing out. I'm all for it."
One man who would know about the pros and cons of such a system is former SA fast bowler Mfuneko Ngam who now runs a successful academy at the University of Fort Hare nurturing young black talent.
Ngam was one of the few black African players who made it all the way to the national team after the initial quota system was implemented post-apartheid, before injury cut short his promising career.
"In the past and currently, the rule has always been there but it needed to be implemented properly," he said.
"At the moment, two players are contracted [in the provincial teams] but never play. Now they have to have two on the field, not contracted - that's good.
"If you look at last season, there were only two black players who played more than 80%, surely that is a concern."
Omar Henry, SA's first black player in modern-day cricket, indicated that although he backed the idea, there were also psychological aspects which could hinder the performances of "quota" players.
"If you look at the past, there are experiences where such a system worked and didn't work," said Henry.
"If you remember the Justin Ontong and Jacques Rudolph cases - there were plenty of issues. How a player is selected has a psychological effect. There are lessons to be learned there."
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