General Cricket discussion

Should probably talk about the possible crisis developing in South Africa. In short South African cricket is haemorraging not just white players, but money. The CSA lost 200 million rand last year, and expect to lose anywhere from 400-600 million rand this and, unlike Charles Foster Kane, can't sustain 60 years of these kinds of losses. Their domestic T20 league this year has been called off and they may not be able to have a domestic FC or List A season at all. Add to this that, in spite of meeting their 6:5 racial quotas last year, the CSA is looking to introduce even more radical quotas moving forward. The CSA and the SA Cricketer's Association are at loggerheads as a result.

But the last straw could be the South African sports minister wanting to get involved with the running of CSA. If that happebs they lose ICC funding, no questions asked, and will likely lose their ICC member status and be unable to play ICC sanctioned internationals. South Africa is turning into Zimbabwe in front of our eyes. Hopefully something will pull them back from this insanity but I doubt it.

I can see this going absolutely pear shaped and ending very very badly.
 Once again though, the ICC has to have some amount of blood on its hands. The instant the quotas were to be introduced, the ICC should’ve suspended South Africa from international cricket. I know it’s a terrible term, but it is “reverse racism” in a nutshell. South Africa was suspended for 20 odd years because of Apartheid, but when the roles are reversed, the ICC did nothing. The Jacques Rudolph / Justin Ontong situation was poorly handled, and that was 18 years ago - and the quotas have been steadily rising ever since. A full member simply cannot have a system that picks players based on their race rather than their merit, regardless of the races involved. It is discrimination based on race. Racism. Plain and simple.
 As for CSA being taken over by a government body - I think a government has a right to step in and suspend operations of a sporting body that looks like it has serious corruption and maladministration charges against it and it’s chair and CEO. However, the RSA government running CSA won’t fly with the ICC as you said. Step in, sort the mess out, stop the bleeding, put in capable people, step out. If that happens, I think the ICC will be satisfied. The problem is, I can’t see it happening.

www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/white-privileged-sport-australian-cricket-confronts-race-issues-20201023-p56834.html

Here’s an article about it, and direct quotes from a ‘young aboriginal activist’

Sadler was asked by Jones if she saw cricket as an "inclusive" sport, in the reference to Andrew Symonds and Monkeygate.

"That's a really good question, I guess no," Sadler said. "Even reflecting on that situation as well and seeing the image of Symmo. I was only a young girl but that was only the person other than other teams internationally that was the only person of colour I would see in an Australian side.

"As a young person growing up in Australia, we're supposed to be so multicultural and multifaceted, why is there very few people of coloured faces that are playing the sport?

"Predominantly, it is a very white privileged sport as well, like white society sport. At the end of the day as well, when these situations happen it can't be just a situation and nobody is learning from that.

Language like this is very dangerous. “White Society Sport” ? There is absolutely no way known that can be true other than via perception. Artificially changing merit based selection to highlight perceived “diversity” is lunacy.

And then we have this :
"You can't celebrate Australia Day and then attend a Black Lives Matter rally. There is a line in between and you have to choose and really understand and educate yourselves on these issues that are happening in Australia since colonisation and the genocide that has happened and continues to happen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people."

Yes, I’d love to hear about how the systemic and institutional racism against African Americans by police in the United States (resulting in people being murdered) has anything to do with a “genocide that has happened and continues to happen” in Australia against Indigenous Australians, and what this has to do with the diversity of the Australian cricket team. Talk about broad strokes.

'Ben Stokes is the best cricketer on the planet' - www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/54692242

That young activist never saw Australian teams with Jason Gillespie in them? Or maybe they're no aware Dizzy is Aboriginal...

South Africa’s loss will be nations like Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand and Englands gain. All their talented players will simply emigrate and represent other nations like they did for 20 years under Apartheid, and in some cases still do. Pietersen, Strauss, Watling, Wagner, Campher, ten Doeschate, Wessels and Labuschagne (slightly different though) - all South African born but played Internationally for other nations recently.

Here is the problem - Until 10 years back if you asked any decent person if sports should mix with politics they would say not at any cost. People used to see sports for the sake of watching sports. Now the problem is that people think we are living in an age of crisis and that the political injustices are so big that their cause triumphs over sports.  People who don't even actually love sports will identify as a sports fan and spread their political cause. I was shocked to see NBA this summer. It seemed as if the people who run NBA are organizers of BLM movement. One must remember that BLM is a movement aided and supported by a very corrupt political party of the US. Just because the other political party is even more corrupt doesn't take away the fact that Democrats by themselves are very corrupt and would even tactility approve of riots. 

As for political appeasement of minority - I am sick and tired if it. While it's okay to help poor people it is not okay to discriminate against majority because of past injustices. But some people find it okay to discriminate against majority just because some bad thing happened to minorities in the past. And even that may only be true of the US. Most of the minorities of a country like UK didn't even lived in the UK during the time of alleged discrimination. Their families perhaps migrated to the UK recently. Or for that matter Asians who live in Australia. They have not been discriminated in anyway. Yet, it is agenda of some idiots to make it seem as if all minorities have been hurt or discriminated. With the exception of aboriginals, no minorities in Australia have been systematically discriminated. Of course, if you asked someone from far left they will tell you a different story. How the brown people and Muslims are apparently getting discriminated every day in countries like the UK and Australia. 

South Africa has crossed all limits of stupidity though. Cricket will just die their eventually. or they will be reduced being minnows.

Harris already has, albeit briefly and without distinction (9 tests 385 runs at 24). Pucovski was named in the squad for a series against Sri Lanka but didn't play. Given that no one's grasping the #2 opening spot and Warner is 34, there's every chance one or both of them will get their chance soon. Pucovski in particular at just 22 will almost certainly get a call up. Harris is 28 but if keeps scoring shield doubles will find himself back in consideration.