By Revatha S. Silva

History is haunting South Africa. Their board, Cricket South Africa (CSA), is presently investigating and digging deep into the racially volatile situation in their cricket, through hearing of its Social Justice and Nation-building (SJN) committee. They are investigating on racial discrimination within their cricket, particularly within their national side through the past 25 years or so, since South Africa’s readmission into international fold after a bitter apartheid rule.

Their Skipper Temba Buvuma had openly aired his concerns over their current Head Coach Mark Boucher, saying, reportedly, thus: “We would be lying if we said this (current SJN findings) didn’t have an impact on us. It’s publicly known that members of the team have been named in the SJN testimonies.”

“Mark (Boucher) has addressed us as a team, speaking up specifically on the accusations against him. He provided clarity and context. It was really about keeping the guys in his confidence and providing a form of comfort,” Bavuma had said before the team’s departure to Sri Lanka, the media had reported last week.

Boucher not the most respectful person

“Mark wasn’t the most respectful person. I never had anything against him, nor did I meddle in playing affairs when I was President, but I do remember him as an individual who wasn’t very approachable,” former CSA President Ray Mali had said, whilst also adding he did not find Boucher to be the most hospitable individual during his tenure as CSA President, when Boucher was playing for South Africa.

SJN’s hearings on racial discrimination in their game began on 5 July this year with a view to hearing over fifty submissions under its ombudsman, Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza.

He call Paul Adams “brown sh*t”

One such submissions by Boucher’s former team-mate Paul Adams had revealed that the former had referred to him as “brown sh*t” during their playing days.

Already there is pressure mounting on both Boucher as well as the current CSA Director of Cricket and former Skipper Graeme Smith to vacate their positions.

Following initial SJN hearings, Boucher, though, had reacted saying he “deeply regrets” his actions.

Pressure mounting on their ouster

Pressure has also mounted in such situation on Boucher and Smith to leave their positions.

 “In order for there to be peace, it is required for those two men (Boucher and Smith) to vacate their positions,” Mali had been quoted as saying last week in the South African media.

He had added: “There is little clarity in how they were appointed to their positions.”

The SJN project was initiated by CSA’s former Board, headed by Beresford Williams, which resigned in October last year. But it has been picked up by the new Board under Lawson Naidoo, which was appointed last month.

Ntsebeza is expected to submit a report to CSA before 30 September with recommendations to prevent future instances of prejudices within their cricket.

Shanaka confident of his spinners

Meanwhile, the resurgent Sri Lanka, under their new Skipper Dasun Shanaka will likely be eying a fully-fledged spin attack to withhold the Protea advance.

“I’m 200% sure that our spinners will do better than them (South Africa). We will try our best to make it three-nil because we know that only then, we can reach No. 5 in the ODI rankings,” Shanaka told media yesterday (1 September).

World Cup Super League’s situation

In the present International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings of the format, where New Zealand tops with 121 ratings, South Africa are in the fifth place with 103 while Sri Lanka are in the ninth position with 79 ratings.

Only the top seven countries, plus hosts India, will qualify automatically for the 2023 ICC (ODI) World Cup, out of 13 contenders. The World Cup will feature only 10 teams.

The bottom five nations of the ranking table at the deadline for the rankings will have to play a qualifier tournament, along with five Associate Member sides, to fight it out for a place in the last two remaining slots.

The World Cup qualification pathway, named the ICC World Cup Super League, is in operation from July 2020 to March 2023.

Shamsi vs. Hasaranga on a spin-friendly pitch

The R. Premadasa pitch is likely to take plenty of turn. Then the visitors have their trump Tabraiz Shamsi (left-arm chinaman) for the occasion - probably one for the three by Sri Lanka in terms of the two teams’ spin options.

Shamsi, as we know, is leading the current bowlers’ world ranking in T20I, where Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga (right-arm leg-spin) is the second.

The series therefore will highlight a fascinating left and right hand leg-spin bowling of the highest calibre.

Sri Lanka opening batsman and wicket-keeper Kusal Perera is reportedly still recovering after contracting Covid-19 making it all but certain for Minod Bhanuka to keep wickets and open batting today. Veteran top-order wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Chandimal is also unlikely to make it to the playing eleven today.

 

* Sri Lanka vs. South Africa ODIs

All-time ODIs: Matches 77 / SL 31 / SA 44 / Tied 1 / No Result 1

SL at home: Matches 24 / SL 16 / SA 7 / Tied 0 / No Result 1

At R. Premadasa: Matches 10 / SL 8 / SA 2 / Tied 0 / No Result 0 

* How SL fared in all-time series played at home:

1. Aug-Sep 1993: Drawn 1-1 (3)

2. July 2000: Won 3-0 (3)

3. August 2004: Won 5-0 (5)

4. August 2006: 0-0 (3)*

5. July 2013: Won 4-1 (5)

6. July 2014: Lost 2-1 (3)

7. August 2018: Lost 3-2 (5)

8. September 2021: - --- (3)

* All matches either abandoned or cancelled