Andy Capostagno Cricket
There were many reasons to be cheerful if you were a South African in Port Elizabeth last Saturday. The national side had just beaten the much vaunted West Indies by 178 runs to go 2-0 up in the five Test series and there was much back slapping and cheery chat about the benefits of two days off.
Two men did not join in the general celebrations. One was Dave Emslie, the chief executive officer of the Eastern Province Cricket Board (EPCB), the other was Ali Bacher, the general manager of the United Cricket Board (UCB).
Emslie was worried because the match had ended two days early and he had pre-sold several thousands of tickets for Sunday’s non-existent play. The EPCB, like the rest of the Test-hosting provinces, is heavily reliant on the money generated from a high-profile five-day game. When that game only lasts three days, there are inevitably serious problems.
But Emslie’s concern was as nothing compared to those of Bacher. Less than two months ago Bacher had helped to broker a financial deal which saved the tour. Now here were the players he had pleaded with to come to South Africa providing no more than token resistance, and in a manner that suggested they would rather not have been persuaded to come in the first place.
For many years now, Bacher has spoken of this particular tour as being a ground-breaking one for the development of South African cricket. But the theory that people from the disadvantaged communities would see black men excelling at cricket and accept that as a valid reason to give the game a go seems unlikely to be tested.
Indeed, there may be an argument for saying that the sight of such an ill- prepared West Indian side collapsing on a regular basis against a South African team which does not contain a black player at all, could create much more harm than good for the development programme.
And so the next two weeks take on rather an important aspect. On Saturday in Pietermaritzburg the South African A team takes on the West Indies at the charming Alexandra Park Oval. The squad contains five players of colour, four of whom are there pretty much on merit.
Ashwell Prince is a talented left- handed batsman who moved from his home in Eastern Province to play for Western Province last year. Makhaya Ntini and Paul Adams have both already played Tests for South Africa and have the chance to cock a snook at the national selectors who deemed both to be “out of form” ahead of the Wanderers Test last month.
The 12th man is Victor Mpitsang, an extremely promising pace bowler from Free State who is very unlucky not to have made the starting line-up.
The luckiest man in the side is Shafiek Abrahams, a 30-year-old off- spinner and lower-order batsman from Eastern Province. Abrahams is a known quantity, having been in and out of the Eastern Province team since 1993, and if he were to use this match as a stepping stone into the national side everyone would slap each other on the back and say: “Told you so.”
There is as much chance of that happening as there is of Barry Richards making himself available to solve the opening batsman crisis in the national team.
If Abrahams’s inclusion were in order to shore up the lower-order batting or to provide a balanced attack it would be perhaps excusable, although the batting hardly needs strengthening with the fit again Lance Klusener coming in at number seven. The idea of picking balanced attacks went out with West Indies’ current manager Clive Lloyd in the mid-1970s. The only reason that Abrahams was ever in contention is that he is the right colour and that is wrong.
He is not half the player that Nicky Boje or Derek Crookes are. Both are, like Abrahams, finger spinners who bat very well, but they are the wrong colour.
Now let us look ahead to the remainder of the Test series and see why Ali Bacher’s brow is lower than ever right now. Put the case that the Day of Good Will Test at Kingsmead also ends in three days which, given the likely pitch and atmospheric conditions and the unlikely scenario of a vast improvement in the West Indies’ batting, is a distinct possibility. South Africa have won the series 3-0 and there are two “dead” Tests to come.
The UCB has guaranteed an affirmative action team in those circumstances. So who makes way? If Prince plays it must be one of Daryll Cullinan or Jonty Rhodes. If Ntini or Mpitsang plays it must be David Terbrugge and if Adams plays it will be at the expense of Pat Symcox.
It goes without saying that there is no room in the side for Klusener. Bearing all of that in mind you may have some idea why the post of general manager of the UCB is not something that many people will be asking Santa to bring down the chimney for them this Christmas.