God help me - the Test Cricket thread

[ElwoodBlues1]

Very contentious decision, but not understanding the principles behind it, hard to make a call.  On balance, I think maybe he should have.  Equally, I can see why not.

I have issues with the quota system and its prevented SA from fielding their best teams and they have lost players to the English county system, the IPL and even NZ with players like Conway now getting picked in all forms.
DeKock doesnt have to like it or those running the game behind the scenes but publically needs to do the right thing as their marquee player IMHO. Things will only change if there is a bit common sense and compromise from both sides, you want to see the best cricketers playing but there is the political game that needs to be played first and a system setup in SA that allows the best talent to rise to the top not dependent on what colour you skin is and you have to set up the structures that provide equality to all.

[capcom]

I have issues with the quota system and its prevented SA from fielding their best teams and they have lost players to the English county system, the IPL and even NZ with players like Conway now getting picked in all forms.
DeKock doesnt have to like it or those running the game behind the scenes but publically needs to do the right thing as their marquee player IMHO. Things will only change if there is a bit common sense and compromise from both sides, you want to see the best cricketers playing but there is the political game that needs to be played first and a system setup in SA that allows the best talent to rise to the top not dependent on what colour you skin is and you have to set up the structures that provide equality to all.

Great comment [member=57]ElwoodBlues1[/member]

[LP]

Things will only change if there is a bit common sense and compromise from both sides, you want to see the best cricketers playing but there is the political game that needs to be played first and a system setup in SA that allows the best talent to rise to the top not dependent on what colour you skin is and you have to set up the structures that provide equality to all.

Any of us with relatives in SA, Zimbabwe, Tanzania or similar have heard the stories and how Apartheid still exists but just inverted. The new 'quota' laws infiltrating Africa are used by the corrupt to basically sequester farm land and commercial properties without compensation, often with no intent to continue the enterprise.

I know people who held significant farm land, housing, servicing and employing about 50 locals on the property to manage and work the farm. In total with families that was about 300 people living and working within the farm boundary. Corrupt bureaucrats / officials basically used government channels to assert the workers were 'slave labour', kicked the owners off the land, sacked and evicted all the staff leaving them jobless and homeless, then broke up the homes and village amenities to sell off the chattels, hardware and furniture pilfering any commercial stock the traders held in the process, it just disappeared and nobody knows. Then as a final and even bigger insult, the property titles of 'some worthless land' were on-sold for a pittance to what was assumed to be a political insider. All with no compensation offered to any of the title owners. The farm is left to degrade, the land is no longer worked, the services have collapsed. Basic grain and feed which came off the farm, have now been replaced with imports, you guessed it from a company owned by another politician. This is a business that had operated for almost 50 years and employed several generations of locals while providing free lease land to the employee families which they had developed into family homes, small trading shops like a bakery and butcher, and village amenities like a medical clinic and pre-school. All gone and now they all get zero welfare!

[Professer E]

I have heard the above scenario, twice,    essentially verbatim, from two sources.  It's another form of "racism",  just the skin colour of the crooks in charge has changed.  The sooner people understand that "racism" is a built in, inherent feature of humanity the sooner we can do something realistic about it. 

[ElwoodBlues1]

I have heard the above scenario, twice,    essentially verbatim, from two sources.  It's another form of "racism",  just the skin colour of the crooks in charge has changed.  The sooner people understand that "racism" is a built in, inherent feature of humanity the sooner we can do something realistic about it. 

Prof,DeKock has apologised since and said he will take the knee and suggested that he was making a stance and wanted more done to fix the problems and wasn't racist.
But I think it's more along the lines of what you are saying and things have gone 180 degrees in terms of how SA cricket is now being administered. I watch a bit of the one day domestic SA cricket on Kayo every now and then and there are some very good players not getting a game at international level and it's because quotas are preventing their selection.
If they could pick their best team on talent alone they would be a dominant force in world cricket but they need to fix all their political problems first before that happens and they can't get the balance right it seems.

[madbluboy]

We have the same the same issue with our NSW quotas.

[DJC]

We have the same the same issue with our NSW quotas.

I had to think about that for a minute ... subtle but hard-hitting 

[madbluboy]

Typing it on my phone and getting a call during that didn't help.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Hazelwood, Starc, Cummins, Lyon , Warner and Smith plus Sean Abbott likely as the Pattinson replacement.
Michael Neser could be the permanent 12th man, never to play a test match.
Marnus, Green, Head and probably one of Khawaja or Pucovski to fill in the other opening spot.

[Professer E]

"quota" is just another firm of racism EB,  what happened to primotion/selection based on merit?