Afrikanerbond slams 'blatant interference' in squad

Political interference in South African cricket has not produced the best team for their tour to India, the Afrikanerbond said in a letter on Tuesday to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

“The letter, which was also faxed to the International Cricket Council (ICC), said that adhering to racial quotas, would not result in the best South African cricket team to tour India,” said Afrikanerbond managing director Jan Bosman.

The Afrikanerbond (Afrikaner League) was established in 1994 and grew out of the Afrikaner Broederbond.

The letter comes after the controversy surrounding fast bowler Andre Nel, who was dropped from the Test squad’s tour to India in order to meet racial quotas. Charl Langeveldt, who was selected in the place of Andre Nel, then withdrew as he did not want to participate in the Test series as a quota player.

Bosman said in his letter that certain international standards must apply in the selection of the best team to represent a country.

“Furthermore, as India expects the best teams to play against your national team, the blatant political interference in South African sport and the veto right of the chair of Cricket South Africa, Norman Arendse, to select players merely to adhere to racial targets, might cause embarrassment to South Africa.

“The team is a team adhering to racial quotas and is politically sanitised, but is in all probability not South Africa’s best team,” he said in the letter.

Bosman said “political meddling” and adherence to racial quotas was a direct and blatant transgression of the International Cricket Council’s “Anti-Racism Code, which was approved in November 2006”.

“As the international governing body for the sport of cricket, the ICC is responsible for ensuring that the highest standards of moral and ethical behaviour are applied and upheld throughout the sport at every level.”

Bosman said there had been no response from the ICC or the Board of Control for Cricket in India. - Sapa