Black players back scrapping of quotas

Black international players have voiced their support for South African's decision to scrap race quotas.

The United Cricket Board (UCB) decided on Sunday to rescind its policy for all senior provincial teams to include four black players next season and the requirement that the national selectors not pick all white sides to represent South Africa.

It said instead that coloured players should make up 50 percent of the teams playing below those levels.

The decisions were based on the UCB's view that its transformation policies had succeeded in finding, training and promoting players of colour.

The scrapping of quotas has roused South Africa's politicians, who have largely come out against the move. Sport minister Ngconde Balfour was due to meet cricket officials on Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Black players Justin Ontong and Ashwell Prince, who were capped by South African last season, said on Wednesday they supported the UCB's new thinking.

"You should put your best side onto the field," all rounder Ontong told Reuters. "If you're not good enough to play, bad luck."

Ontong said quotas had been of value in that they had exposed black players to the higher levels of the game, but he felt that value had been overshadowed by the system's negative aspects.

"I now know what is required to succeed at international level, but I wasn't in favour of quotas in the first place," Ontong said. "They made us as coloured players feel inferior, and that you weren't really a part of the team."

Asked how he would feel if Balfour criticised the UCB's decisions, Ontong said: "The minister wants to speed up the transformation process, but you can't speed up something like this."

Merit based selection, Ontong felt, was crucial to South Africa's success.

"I just want to see South Africa win, and we need to put our best team on the field to do that," he said.

Top order batsman Prince echoed Ontong's sentiments when he said: "If I get selected for a team, I'll be happy to know that I'm part of the best available eleven and that the best available eleven is playing."

Mail Cricket Editor