South African cricket board (UCB) president Percy Sonn admitted that he overruled the selectors and forced them to include coloured player Justin Ontong in the side for the third Test against Australia instead of their preferred choice, Jacques Rudolph, who is white. "I did intervene on a matter of policy and that right is invested in me as president," said Sonn. Rudolph was picked in place of the out-of-form Lance Klusener, and either he or Boeta Dippenaar would have filled the vacant No. 6 batting position. But Sonn rejected that option, arguing that shuffling the batting order discriminated against Ontong.

While Rudolph was picked as cover for the top-order batsmen, Ontong was included as back-up for the middle order. Sonn said that including Rudolph, whether as a No. 6 or to allow someone else to drop down the order, "amounted to exclusion of a person of colour who has the right to be given the opportunity". He went on: "If there is an opportunity for a person of colour to represent his country then we must make sure that he does get that opportunity. I regarded that as not having been complied with."

Although the UCB regulations which state that the Test side must include one coloured player had been complied with (Herschelle Gibbs being the player in question), that was not enough to satisfy Sonn.

"Rudolph came over to shadow the first three - he's a top-order batsman, as is Dippenaar. Ontong was brought in to shadow positions six and lower. If you try to shuffle No. 3s into No. 6s you are doing something that is exclusionary to people who are brought in to shadow other positions."

Ontong's poor form - he scored a pair against New South Wales on his only appearance on the tour - failed to dissuade Sonn. "How do you determine form?" he said. "When do you start gazing into the future and saying when form is going to be permanent?"

But selector Graeme Pollock was not impressed with Sonn's intervention. "You accept these things against weaker teams such as Zimbabwe but this is a crucial time for South African cricket. That's why people are so upset."

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