Andrew Hudson, South Africa's convenor of selectors, has admitted his panel told Thami Tsolekile he would play the Test series against New Zealand before going back on their decision. Their stance had to be reversed when AB de Villiers decided he would like to continue in his new role as keeper-batsman.
Hudson's acknowledgement comes after Tsolekile revealed he was
"disappointed," at being left out of the squad and confused about the
reasons for his exclusion. Tsolekile spoke to various media outlets in
the last few days and expressed his concern over the administrators not
following through with their promises.
"I wasn't expecting to play in England because I knew that I went there
as a substitute when Mark Boucher was injured and I had no expectations
at all. When I packed my bags for Australia, I also knew I was going to
be the back-up keeper," Tsolekile told ESPNcricinfo. "But before that
tour, the selectors told me I would get a chance against New Zealand,
especially if things go well. When I spoke to them again, I was getting
different messages. There's nothing I can do now. I'll just keeping
doing what I am doing for the Lions."
More often than not a player voicing discontent over non-selection in
the public domain would cause a fracas, but this time it has only
resulted in sympathy. Cricket South Africa's acting chief executive
Jacques Faul confirmed the organisation would "sit down and have a chat
about what happened because we have to interrogate the process," while
Hudson said he "feels for Thami."
Hudson was the bearer of Tsolekile's bad news but emphasised he was
willing to be "transparent" about what had happened. "When Boucher was
forced to retire in England we need a replacement and even though AB was
reluctant to do the job, we asked to fill in for the next two tours,"
he said. "We did tell Thami he would get his chance against New Zealand.
"After the tour to Australia, AB came back to us and said wants to
continue keeping wicket because he is enjoying it. That was not the case
six months ago. AB's interest in doing the job meant the situation was
different."
De Villiers was able to alter his earlier position because the selectors
wanted him as the first choice wicketkeeper anyway, according to
Hudson. "When he told us he wanted to play as the wicketkeeper that was
fantastic news for us because we can now play an extra batter or extra
bowler at No.7. It is not a case of him dictating to us. If he changes
his mind at any stage, we will respect that."
Although de Villiers has a history of chronic back problems, which
worsened after the England tour, Hudson said the administrators are
happy for him to continue keeping wicket even if it means he is rested
from limited-overs matches, such as the forthcoming three-match Twenty20
series against New Zealand. De Villiers is South Africa's ODI and
Twenty20 captain but Hudson said he will be rotated so he is able to
focus on Test cricket.
In the longest format, South Africa have stuck to a seven-batsmen
strategy since England with the additional player proving worthy. Both
JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis carried underperforming players at No.6.
Jacques Rudolph and Dean Elgar - who bagged a pair on debut in Perth -
have averaged 21.50 in the position and Hudson said although the
selectors take note of that they will continue with the tactic
"especially when we have JP back." Duminy has just completed the first
month of six in his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered
in Brisbane.
As a result of the policy to play seven batsmen, Hudson said: "Thami is
now in competition with AB for his place in the squad." While Tsolekile
claimed that was never explained to him as bluntly as that, he admitted
that Hudson told him he needs to put in better performances with the
bat.
Hudson has spoken to Tsolekile's franchise coach Geoff Toyana and asked
for Tsolekile to bat higher up the order to give him the opportunity to
score big hundreds. Tsokeile usually slots in at No. 7 but was moved up a
place in the on-going first-class match against Warriors.
It was his first competitive outing in seven weeks and he scored an
unbeaten 88. In the same round of fixtures, Rudolph managed 9 for Titans
and Elgar 43 for Knights.
Apart from the cricketing argument, there is also concern that
Tsolekile's exclusion represents an anti-transformation stance
especially since South Africa's Test team has not included a black
African in almost two years, since Lonwabo Tsotsobe in January 2011.
Still, Hudson insisted he and his panel "are committed to
transformation."
CSA, though, are concerned about representation. The next board meeting
is on January 9 and Faul said there is a possibility that legislation
will be passed to ensure development is better attended to. "We already
have directives at semi-professional level to ensure black African
players come through we may have to legislate it at franchise level as
well," he said.
Hudson said even if those instructions extend to national level, he will
happy to accept them. "If the board want to propose further guidelines,
I will embrace them and see them through," Hudson said. South Africa
does not have an official quota system in place at the moment. It was
previously mandatory to play four players of colour in every team which
included black Africans, mixed-race and those of Indian descent.
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