Affirmative action worry for Shafiek Abrahams
Trevor Chesterfield
13 December 1998
PORT ELIZABETH - As all sections of the rainbow nation in this corner
of the country united behind Hansie Cronje's side as they inflicted a
crushing defeat on the West Indies at St George's Park on Saturday, a
puzzled Shafiek Abrahams was pondering on his elevation to the South
African A side.
Not for the first time this season has the term ``affirmative action''
upset what the ANC euphemistically call ``players of colour''. Now
Eastern Cape sources are suggesting, and not without foundation, that
Abrahams is wondering if he too has become a member of the hated
``quota system'' plan.
If, as the argument runs, the selection is on merit, why did it not
come earlier?
With many of players already angry over what they see as ``inclusion on
the basis of quota numbers'' Abrahams, a hard-working all-rounder who
has the ability to bowl tidy, honest and workmanlike off-spin, has
found himself among five ``players of colour'' selected for the South
African A team to play the West Indies in a four-day game at
Pietermaritzburg's Alexander Oval starting on Saturday.
And to take the heat out of the A Team debate the thought now is to
possibly to change the name, which might be a better idea, to that of
SA President's XI or SA Invitation XI
Abrahams was one of two surprise selections in the side, the other
being Charl Willoughby ahead of the promising Victor Mpitsang, the
young Free State fast bowler
Yet, as Peter Pollock, the convener of selectors pointed out, those
who missed out, such as Nicky Boje, Pieter Barnard and Derek Crookes
as well as HD Ackerman were already well known to the selectors.
``We want to try someone else and have decided to give Boeta Doppenaar
a chance to open the innings,'' he said. ``Players such as Shafiek has
shown promise and we want to see what he can do in such a game.''
The fast bowling may rely too much on the experience of the three Test
caps, Lance Klusener, Makhaya Ntini and Paul Adams, while Willoughby
gets his chance ahead of Herman Bakkes. There are only three members
of the A side which toured Sri Lanka earlier this year in the side,
with Nic Pothas who takes over as captain, along with Martin van
Jaarsveld and Ashwell Prince.
But, as it has been pointed out, the side has wide demographic
recognition with With Sven Koenig representing the Swedish community,
Nic Pothas the Greeks, Boeta Dippenaar and Martin van Jaarsveld the
Afrikaans-speaking peoples, a Xhosa in Makhaya Ntini and Lance
Klusener, because he speaks Zulu so fluently, the Zulus.
The side is: Sven Koenig, Botea Dippenaar, Martin van
Jaarsveld, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Nic Pothas (captain), Lance
Klusener, Shafiek Abrahams, Paul Adams, Makhaya Ntini, Charl
Willoughby.
Twelfth man: Victor Mpitsang
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