Second Test. SA v England. Cape Town, Jan 2-6

[mikesiva]

It makes no sense to pick an entire white team to play for South Africa, given their not-too-distant history...that would be the death knell of cricket as an inclusive sport in South Africa. CSA are looking to the future, and the future has to try as best as possible to get support from the non-white communities if it's to have any future after the present stars retire.

In 1977, the white population of South Africa was 16% of the population. Now, it is down to just eight percent of the population. Depending solely on white South Africans to make up your team is the sure way to ensure that cricket in South Africa becomes irrelevant.

The quota system is far from perfect, but bearing in mind that before 1990, non-whites were not allowed anywhere near the national team, it is arguably a necessary evil. It's pointless pretending that apartheid never existed, and that everything is hunky-dory now....

The last Test team had seven white players, one Asian, two "coloureds", and only one black player. I don't see anything wrong with that equation.

If you do away with quotas, and just pick players on "merit", and end up with all-white teams, then the South Africa side will end up going the way of the West Indies Test side...sliding into oblivion.

[westoelad]

20 year old Rabada described in AOC as "fast,very fast-this kid is scorched earth". Interesting!

[Dr Cricket]

Won't be an all White team anyway considering rabada, Amla, duminy, philander, piedt, bravuma and many more are in contention all they want is fair selection.

Like making splinter said wont be any clear solution to this but it quite obvious that players don't want it.

In all of this what the player wants should be the main consideration.

Quatos should only remain in domestic cricket, they should treat quotas just like grants and aid you get in schools/uni in this country. Should only be use to get poorer or black people into the system or best uni/school but after that it a even playing field the best get selected. By the way not being racist only mention black people in terms of South Africa giving more help to them if they are good enough, all the top black sportsmen in SA went to the top private schools, that where the government should be spending more time on.

personally think having them in domestic cricket is a good idea, one of the major reason they got loads of good cricketers but government needs to be patient not all of them will be good for the first team.

Over time more and more of the team will be coloured.

[greyblazer]

Playing against SA at Cape Town is never easy.

[m@tt]

I don't think it is as simple as saying a quota system is right or wrong in South Africa. Given their modern history, there is obviously huge pressures to ensure that the legacy of apartheid is removed as quickly as possible, and cricket is one area where the South African side does not show a truly multicultural face of the rainbow nation.

Obviously, you want the best players to be playing the game, but when 80% of the population have minimal impact on the sport at the top level it is clear that something needs to be done to address this, the difficult part is how you do that.

That said, the current English side hardly does a good job of representing the ethnography of England and Wales.

Agreed, there's no simple solution. Although historically, cricket wasn't played much by blacks in South African, I believe it's now their second favourite sport behind football, if Wikipedia is to be believed. Yet they have been disproportionately represented in cricket. South Africa are certainly right to want to increase that representation.

Quotas are a way to do that, albeit a rather blunt solution that causes some short term pain and is hardly equal. But it's a long term project. Is it the right solution? I just don't know.

England also has some representation problems too, albeit not to the same degree. They are overly reliant on privately schooled players, with state schools woefully represented. Though whilst SA's problem is due to decades of racist policy, ours is mainly due to short-sighted decisions (school playing fields etc).

[Making_Splinters]

I don't think it is as simple as saying a quota system is right or wrong in South Africa. Given their modern history, there is obviously huge pressures to ensure that the legacy of apartheid is removed as quickly as possible, and cricket is one area where the South African side does not show a truly multicultural face of the rainbow nation.

Obviously, you want the best players to be playing the game, but when 80% of the population have minimal impact on the sport at the top level it is clear that something needs to be done to address this, the difficult part is how you do that.

That said, the current English side hardly does a good job of representing the ethnography of England and Wales.

Agreed, there's no simple solution. Although historically, cricket wasn't played much by blacks in South African, I believe it's now their second favourite sport behind football, if Wikipedia is to be believed. Yet they have been disproportionately represented in cricket. South Africa are certainly right to want to increase that representation.

Quotas are a way to do that, albeit a rather blunt solution that causes some short term pain and is hardly equal. But it's a long term project. Is it the right solution? I just don't know.

England also has some representation problems too, albeit not to the same degree. They are overly reliant on privately schooled players, with state schools woefully represented. Though whilst SA's problem is due to decades of racist policy, ours is mainly due to short-sighted decisions (school playing fields etc).

Personally, I am not in favour of a Quota system simply because positive discrimination is still discrimination regradless of the intentions. That said apartheid ended 20 years ago now and we are still yet to see a substancial coloured presence in the national side, so it is clear that simply letting things naturally develop is not working.

[Making_Splinters]

Interesting reading Bayliss' thoughts after the win especially about Compton. Here's a bloke who was harshly dropped from the Test side then turned in two very good performances in trying circumstances to prevent England collapsing in a heap twice in the same Test, yet:

"Ultimately, I'd like to see two of the top three guys as attacking-style batters," Bayliss said. "I just think if you have a couple of attacking guys up the top it puts pressure on the opposition a lot easier."

Talk about ungrateful.

[Alviro Patterson]

Interesting reading Bayliss' thoughts after the win especially about Compton. Here's a bloke who was harshly dropped from the Test side then turned in two very good performances in trying circumstances to prevent England collapsing in a heap twice in the same Test, yet:

"Ultimately, I'd like to see two of the top three guys as attacking-style batters," Bayliss said. "I just think if you have a couple of attacking guys up the top it puts pressure on the opposition a lot easier."

Talk about ungrateful.

Those comments seem to be as equal, if not more directed towards Cook and Hales. The former for all the international experience should know when to move gears and Hales is a capable enough player to play that expansive role.

Bayliss says later "If you haven't got them [the attacking players], you pick the best available. And what Compton has proven at the moment is that, of the guys around, he's in the best top three."

[backfootpunch]

Interesting reading Bayliss' thoughts after the win especially about Compton. Here's a bloke who was harshly dropped from the Test side then turned in two very good performances in trying circumstances to prevent England collapsing in a heap twice in the same Test, yet:

"Ultimately, I'd like to see two of the top three guys as attacking-style batters," Bayliss said. "I just think if you have a couple of attacking guys up the top it puts pressure on the opposition a lot easier."

Talk about ungrateful.

previously i would agree with him but after a year of 40-3 after 40-3 i am glad we have someone who can grind out 80 off 240 balls

[Arthur Crabtree]

Steyn and Philander have terrific records at Newlands, averaging five wickets a match each.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Anderson took eight wickets in 2010, the Test when Swann and Onions batted the match out with one wicket left.

[westoelad]

Steyn and Philander have terrific records at Newlands, averaging five wickets a match each.

And neither playing in 2nd test. Amla has just confirmed Rabada will replace Steyn.

[Arthur Crabtree]

And their main batters there (since 2000) were Kallis and Smith. JK had six hundreds.

[Dr Cricket]

South Africa got a good record in this ground, but this ground should suit England.
need to get a positive result here either a draw or win.

Can not see England winning in the highvields, england technique against pace is crap.

[Arthur Crabtree]

South Africa would normally be favourites, but with their two best bowlers missing, and the batting misfiring, it doesn't seem that obvious how this will go.