Colour question rises again

Criticism, which seems to be based on ignorance and uninformed opinion, has stranded the United Cricket Board's managing director in the middle another episode which smacks of mischief-making within the ranks of the National Sports Council over the selection of the South African side.

In a bid to ``turn up the heat'' on the UCB. The non-selection of a ``player of colour'' will, however, be ``fully debated'' by the UCB board on December 5 when issue is expected to be raised, which seems to be an act of appeasement to the detractors of Peter Pollock's national selection panel's policy.

In part of a statement read out to the media Dr Bacher said the ``national selectors have informed me that due to loss of form and injury, players of colour who were in contention for the team, they were unable to select these players.''

He was no doubt referring to Makhaya Ntini, who has managed only three wickets this season and missed the SuperSport Series match at Centurion three weeks ago, and Roger Telemachus, still recovering from the shoulder injury which has kept him out of the game since May when he was injured in Worcester shortly after the start of the South Africa tour of England.

Although Paul Adams is in the side as 12th man for third first test his form hardly warrants a place in the chosen line up.

Apart from these there are no others emerging from the ``coloured ranks at this stage and it may take another couple of seasons before we see those who have come into the provincial teams reaching a level where they can be considered good enough. Unless of course those whose uninformed opinion is stirring the murky waters wish to compromise the UCB and themselves by the selection of a player who is embarrassingly out of his depth.

It was on March 6 in Port Elizabeth, the day before Fanie de Villiers announced his retirement, where a demonstration led to Dr Bacher making a statement that ``in 1998 South Africa cannot afford to field a team without a player of colour''. He expressed his disappointment yesterday that ``no player of colour had been selected for this historic match''.