Dan van Niekerk and Black Batters

It's Q&A time...

Dear Subscribers,

Many thanks for your many questions – I will do my best to get to all of them in time, but let’s start with these:

Hi Neil,

Your views in the Dane van Niekerk situation are sought.   Many years ago I coached a national under 21 team, and we used time and beep tests, but only as a measure of where a player stood AEROBICALLY in terms of stamina.   To my mind cricket requires ANAEROBIC fitness - an ability to work at maximum effort with the quickest recovery possible - so what does a 2km time trial contribute towards this?

In addition, leaders are special people who have to work hard to get their team's respect.  Dane has done so for 5 years, and I fail to understand why this was overlooked by the ''knowledgeable'' selection panel.   I think they have put our team on the back foot even before the tournament starts.  I smell some mean spirited individual at work here.

With kind regards

Kevin Sutcliffe.

Hi Kevin,

You are more of an expert on this than I am. I have spent many hours focussing on the ‘official’ line, to temper my views and not over-react. But it still seems like a short-sighted, dogmatic decision which, frankly, is also condescending and patronizing. CSA’s wretched handling of Lizelle Lee’s ‘fitness’ issues last year has led to this. Lizelle, one of SA’s finest ever batters, retired from international cricket in her prime and emigrated to Australia having been unsupported and then humiliated by her employers.

How about: “In order for players to be eligible for selection CSA should be satisfied that they have made/are making every effort to reach the fitness standards prescribed and should, in the opinion of CSA’s appointed experts, comply within reasonable proximity to those standards.” Dane’s time in her Time Trial was a personal best so, clearly, she was committed.  

That would discount those players who are either lazy or take their place in the squad for granted. Neither of which applies to Dane. But there have been a few over the years, especially in the men’s game.

Hi Neil

I believe the handling of the DvN saga does CSA no favours - indeed it will likely run in negative light for the entire World Cup. That's what happens when you don't select one of the world's top all-rounders and arguably the best captain in the game.

I felt a question to the convenor of selectors for women's cricket should have been:  "Would Dane Van Niekerk have strengthened SA's team for the world cup?" And the next question: "What is our primary aim in the World Cup"? (And perhaps a cheeky third one "What medical care did you seek for your feet, having shot yourself in both of them?

So my questions to you are:

1 - What is the name / title of the list of criteria for selection?  I had imagined I'd heard that it was something akin to 'Guidelines for selection"

2. Dane van Niekerk is one of the best close-in fielders in women's cricket.  Not sure I've ever seen her on the boundary.  Would you agree that a 2km TT is simply not relevant to close-in fielders. That's a different set of skills. 

3. How would you have handled the situation?  And how would you handle it now?

Stephen Granger (a fellow free-lance journalist, but in the distance-running game. And yes, that includes 2km time trials!)

Hi Stephen,

You make very good points. It has been interesting that no explanation for the relevance of a 2km Time Trial to cricket performance has been forthcoming. I have been told, informally, that it is the ‘recovery time’ after the run which is of more relevance than the run itself. But nobody will put that on the record. Thy did, in fact, happily admit that Dane would have been an asset and would have strengthened the team. But she didn’t pass the fitness test so, tough luck. Bizarre.

As a final thought on the subject: What an awful thought that young girls with body shape issues might be dissuaded from playing and pursuing cricket after the mistreatment of Lee and van Niekerk.

Hi Neil

Thank you so much for entertaining us with your extremely insightful articles over so many years. May it continue for many more years!

Can you please explain why there are so few good black cricket batsmen coming through the ranks? We have so many excellent bowlers who have emerged over the years, but very few who are flourishing in the domestic four-day competition and can make the step-up to test level? 

I have heard the scientific answer that you need good coaching and facilities from a young age to become a good batsman, but then I wonder in places like India and Pakistan, facilities are equally poor, yet so many great batsmen have emerged from those countries. Is it a selection issue at the younger age group levels? Or is there a lack of effort to identify talented batsmen in our townships and rural areas? Or is the answer a bit more complex?

Regards,

Ghalieb

Dear Ghalieb,

Ooph. I have included your question because it is a fascinating and vexing subject on which I am no more enlightened than anyone else. I’m hoping some other subscribers may have informed opinions and can share them with us. I can assure you that CSA’s Development coaches are obsessed with finding and honing Black African batters. It is a matter of deep consternation that so few have challenged for national honours over the last two decades.

It has occurred to me often than the national development budget may be spread too widely and therefore thinly rather than concentrating on areas of proven success. Look closely at what, and why, small areas like Gelvandale and Langa (to name just a couple) have over-achieved for many decades. As anglers are fond of saying, you need to know your fish before you can catch them.