Lauren Bell and Heather Knight have both withdrawn from the upcoming season of WPL

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2024 • Updated on 27-Jan-2024UP Warriorz have brought in Chamari Athapaththu as replacement for Lauren Bell, who has withdrawn from the upcoming edition of the Women’s Premier league (WPL). England captain Heather Knight has also pulled out of the upcoming WPL season, with Royal Challengers Bangalore bringing in South Africa allrounder Nadine de Klerk as her replacement.*England’s women are facing a choice between club and country. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Bell informed the Warriorz set-up recently that she wanted to focus on preparing for the New Zealand series, which begins on March 19 in Dunedin, just two days after the WPL final in Delhi. There is no update yet on the rest of Warriroz’s England contingent, including head coach Jon Lewis (who is also head coach of England Women), Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt, on whether they would finish their WPL engagements before heading to New Zealand.The ECB said in a statement: “When schedules were released, it became clear to be available and prepare optimally for the first game of England’s tour to New Zealand would mean missing the end of the WPL campaign and Knight has decided to prioritise participating in the full international tour whilst allowing the franchise to find a replacement for the whole competition.””I look forward to giving my best to the team and working closely with head coach Jon Lewis and skipper Alyssa Healy and help my team lift the coveted title,” Athapaththu said. “The WPL is a very dynamic tournament, and the UP Warriorz is a strong squad.”

England haven’t lost a Test series since Stokes and McCullum took over but that could change in Ranchi

Hemant Brar22-Feb-20241:11

Manjrekar: Resting Bumrah shows India’s confidence

Big picture: Joe Root looks to bounce back

England have not lost a Test series in the Bazball era. Of the seven completed series in this period, they won four and drew three. However, that could change over the next five days as India – after trouncing England by 434 runs in Rajkot – go into the fourth Test in Ranchi with a lead of 2-1.At various points in the series, India’s batting line-up has looked shaky. But with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill back among runs, and Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel making impressive debuts, it no longer seems to be an issue.Their bowling line-up in Ranchi, though, could be their weakest until now. They have rested Jasprit Bumrah, the most influential bowler with 17 wickets at 13.64 in the first three Tests. Perhaps to offset that, they have prepared a pitch about which Ben Stokes said: “I have never seen something like that before.” But more on that later.Related

• England's young spin trio feel the love on toughest tour

• Stokes unfazed by Bazball backlash as England brace to go again

• Jadeja, the batter – mundane but magnificent

• Robinson, Bashir recalled for Ranchi Test; Wood and Rehan miss out

• How will India replace Jasprit Bumrah in Ranchi?

As far as England are concerned, their middle order needs to fire. So Bumrah’s absence should bring some relief, especially for Joe Root; Bumrah has dismissed him nine times across 13 Tests, including three times in this series. As a result, Root has scored a mere 77 runs in six innings so far on this tour, and his average of 12.83 is the second-worst for him in a Test series.Another positive for England is that Stokes seems ready to resume bowling. Given the England captain’s ability to provide breakthroughs, the prospect must be mouthwatering, but the visitors will be wary of plucking the fruit before it is ripe.

Form guide

India WWLWL (last five Tests, most recent first)
England LLWWD

In the spotlight: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jonny Bairstow

Yashasvi Jaiswal has been head and shoulders above all other batters in this series. In six innings, Jaiswal has smashed 545 runs at an average of 109.00. Ben Duckett, with 288 at 48.00, is a distant second. And it is not just the runs but also how Jaiswal scored them. He has batted at a strike rate of 81.10, and his 22 sixes are already the most by a batter in a bilateral Test series. If England are to level the series, they need to find a way to stop him.Jonny Bairstow was bowled shouldering arms to Ravindra Jadeja in the first Test•BCCI

Jonny Bairstow has been at the opposite end of the spectrum. With Ben Foakes taking over the wicketkeeping duties, he was expected to bat without any worry. But so far in the series, he has managed only 102 runs at an average of 17.00. The team management is not worried, though. According to head coach Brendon McCullum, they want to “keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise”. It is up to Bairstow now to repay their faith.

Team news: England bring in Robinson and Bashir

The only question for India is who replaces Bumrah. With three spinners already in the XI, they are likely to go for either Mukesh Kumar or uncapped Akash Deep. Mukesh should be the frontrunner even though he missed the optional practice session on Thursday, where Akash did a lot of batting and fielding.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Sarfaraz Khan, 6 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Mukesh Kumar/Akash DeepEngland have made two changes. Ollie Robinson replaces Mark Wood and will play his first Test in India, while offspinner Shoaib Bashir has been preferred over Rehan Ahmed for his high release point.England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Tom Hartley, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 James Anderson, 11 Shoaib Bashir

Pitch and conditions: Rain in the air

The Ranchi pitch far more spin-friendly than any of the previous ones in the series. Stokes described it as “very dark and crumbly”. Ollie Pope noted that one half – if you cut it vertically – had significantly more cracks than the other. More grass was shaved off on Thursday. On the weather front, there is a forecast for showers on the third and fifth days of the Test.Brendon McCullum and Co have a close look at the pitch•Associated Press

Stats and trivia: Anderson on the cusp of 700

• James Anderson is only four away from 700 Test wickets. Only Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Shane Warne (708) have taken more.
• Stokes is three short of 200 Test wickets. When he reaches there, he will be only the third allrounder after Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis to complete the double of 6000 runs and 200 wickets.
• Bairstow is 94 away from 6000 Test runs, and Rohit Sharma 23 from 4000.
• Ravindra Jadeja, who completed 3000 Test runs in the previous game, is closing in on 300 Test wickets as well. He needs 13 more to become the seventh Indian to get there.

Quotes

“We have been having a lot of conversations with him [Rajat Patidar]. One thing he needs to understand is that this is how this game goes. He has been batting really well, he has scored a lot of runs to get into the team, and he doesn’t become a bad player after two games. He has had a few tough games, awkward dismissals where the ball has stopped on him, which can happen – this is how this game goes. But I have absolutely no doubt that he is a good player and on his day he will come up with a very impactful innings.”
“There is going to be assistance for the spinners, but also the seam [bowlers] because of the dryness and cracks in the wicket. The way Jimmy [Anderson] and Robbo [Robinson] operate, zoning in on an area consistently, Robbo’s release point, I think we’re giving ourselves a good chance if it is spinning; we also have the chance to take wickets with the quick bowlers if there is some variable bounce.”

LSG’s CEO confirmed as much after Mayank bowled just the one over against Gujarat Titans on Sunday night

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2024Mayank Yadav will have his workload managed over the coming week as a “precaution”, according to Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) CEO Vinod Bisht.Mayank, the tearaway quick who’s been turning heads so far at IPL 2024, walked off after bowling just one over against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, leading to questions about his fitness.”Mayank felt soreness in lower abdominal area and as a precaution we are managing his work load over next week,” Bisht said on Monday. “We hope to see him soon in the field.”Mayank’s pace was down on Sunday night, and he was hit for three boundaries in the fourth over of Titans’ eventually unsuccessful chase.9:56

The Mayank Yadav story – A 21-year-old boy from Delhi with express pace

Following LSG’s win, Krunal Pandya, who had starred with figures of 3 for 11 in his four overs, shrugged off concerns about Mayank. “I don’t know what is happening but I did have a brief couple of seconds’ chat [with him] – he seemed okay, which was quite a relief for us,” Krunal had told the broadcaster.”A bright prospect, I’d been watching him from last two years. He used to [be a] gun in the nets,” Krunal added. “Last year, unfortunately, missed it [due to injury]. But again, whatever conversation I have had, what I see is that he has a good head on his shoulders as well.”After four games, LSG sit at No. 3 on the points table with three wins. They host Delhi Capitals in Lucknow for their next match, on April 12.

Joe Root leads calls for more sympathetic fixture list after players voice physical wellbeing fears

Vithushan Ehantharajah06-May-2024Joe Root says that a greater focus on player welfare amid an ever more congested fixture list is a “non-negotiable”, after a survey by the Professional Cricketers’ Association revealed a startling 81 per cent of county cricketers have been left fearing for their physical health due to their season-long workloads.The survey, which was conducted in pre-season with all 18 counties, has led the PCA to brand the current playing schedule “not fit for purpose”, in particular due to stark issues around matchday travel that have led to calls for an urgent rethink by the ECB and county chiefs to “pre-empt disaster”.More than eight out of 10 county cricketers admitted they were concerned for their well-being as the result of a packed season, while as many as 76 per cent revealed safety concerns around travelling to and from fixtures during the season, notably during the Vitality Blast when teams finish late and play the next day. This year will see 55 back-to-back T20s, an increase from 34 last year.Perhaps the starkest example is Gloucestershire, who play T20s against Glamorgan in Cardiff on June 20, before returning to Bristol the very next day to host Somerset. They then start a four-day match against Yorkshire at Scarborough after a one-day break on June 23.Related

• PCA reiterates fatigue concerns ahead of county domestic review

• PCA says 'more work needed' on player welfare as ECB unveils rejigged Blast schedule

• Handscomb hundred haunts hosts at HQ as Leicestershire recover

• Somerset tame Essex on seaming pitch to seal thrilling two-day win

• Nathan Gilchrist six-for leaves Lancashire in deep trouble

While teams usually travel by bus, issues arise when players drive themselves home, often in the early hours of the morning. The PCA revealed they had to intervene when they discovered one county used minibuses driven by players last season. It is understood the county has stopped that practice.”Back-to-back games have gone up considerably, and are only looked at through a commercial lens,” Daryl Mitchell, the PCA chief operating officer, said. “We understand that, but there needs to be a balance.”Over 10 per cent of our membership accessed our mental health services last year. It’s difficult to get away from the pressure of professional but I think the relentless schedule is a factor.”There’s reports of players who have got off the team bus, driven home and forgotten how they got there, almost on autopilot. Switching off while driving has an element of danger. We want to pre-empt it before anything disastrous happens.”Our CEO, Rob [Lynch] is worried about getting the call in the early hours of the morning when someone has driven off the M1. That scares us. Seventy-six per cent of players have concerns about safety when travelling, which is a high number.”In addition to calling for a minimum standard of three days between four-day matches and at least one rest day between T20s, 66 per cent of those surveyed believe the current schedule is not conducive to high performance.That sentiment was echoed by Root, who believes change will bring about “long-lasting benefits for English cricket”. Though protected from the schedule as a centrally contracted England cricketer, Root is playing five matches for Yorkshire in the County Championship.Joe Root, pictured with Harry Brook, has been back in action for Yorkshire this season•Getty Images

“I am fortunate to play a significant part of the season for Yorkshire this year and looking at the fixture list from a physical, wellbeing and high-performance angle does cause me concern,” Root said.”County cricket is the breeding ground for some of the best talent in the game and this requires world leading structures to allow players to reach their full potential. This is a benefit for everybody in the game.”Having space to recover, prepare and improve your game during the season is crucial and the creation of minimum standards to protect travel windows and player welfare is non-negotiable.”The PCA’s findings and call for action come at a pivotal time in English cricket, with the County Partnership Agreement – the agreement binding the ECB, PCA and counties – up for renewal. This week will also likely see the counties and MCC agree on the ECB’s proposals around private investment in the Hundred which could raise around £500 million for the domestic game. All of which leads into the next broadcast cycle, which begins in 2025.The Hundred remains the elephant in the room as far as fixture congestion is concerned, particularly with the Blast. This year’s eight-team competition has ring-fenced July and the first three weeks of August, with no Blast fixtures and just three days of Championship cricket scheduled in this period.While appreciating the value the Hundred and the importance of matchday revenues for clubs at a precarious time for county finances, Mitchell has called on chiefs and stakeholders to collaborate more around their decision-making. A more altruistic approach is required to ensure players, and by extension, the game, are better protected moving forward.”The power constitutionally is with the county chairs. But from our side it needs a really joined-up approach. Our focus is player safety, physical or mental wellbeing. It needs to be collaborative between the ECB, PCA and the counties to come up with solutions.”We saw with the High Performance Review, if you look at the structure from one particular lens without the others, that makes it very tricky to get anything over the line. It has to be joined up.”We could very easily put out a structure that the players think is ideal, but players also understand the need for the commercial side of the game, the passionate members we have in this country, who are the lifeblood of the counties, who are represented by their chairs. All these stakeholders need to have that approach. We need a collaborative solution to some of the problems we’ve got.In a statement released in response to the PCA’s survey, the ECB said: “As the PCA recognises, the men’s domestic schedule is a complex issue. The players have an important voice in discussions around this, and we are committed to working with them and the First Class Counties to discuss the best ways of overcoming some of the challenges.”

“It was a lovely ovation for him today. We certainly felt his presence with us”

Andrew Miller10-May-2024Gareth Roderick said that he felt the spirit of Josh Baker spurring him on during his first-day hundred against Kent at Canterbury, in Worcestershire’s return to cricket after the tragic death of their team-mate, at the age of just 20, last week.Roderick, who opened the batting and made 117 out of Worcestershire’s close-of-play total of 308 for 5, marked the moment of his century with a tap of Baker’s squad number, 33, that has been embroidered onto the team’s shirts for the rest of the season, and a glance to the heavens before saluting the 1000-strong crowd that had gathered at the St Lawrence Ground on the warmest day of the season so far.With the flags above the Frank Woolley Pavilion flying at half-mast, the two teams had lined up on the boundary’s edge before the start of play for a moment of reflection and a minute’s applause, a gesture which Roderick admitted had affected him deeply as he walked out to begin his innings.Related

• Jason Holder, Matthew Waite centuries leave Kent with a mountain to climb

• Josh Baker, Worcestershire spinner, dies at the age of 20

• Worcestershire to wear 33 on playing shirts in memory of Josh Baker

• Roderick hundred lifts Worcestershire on return to action

“It’s been a very emotional day,” he said at the close. “Obviously the boys are devastated at what’s happened, but we’ve pulled together as a group and that was a lovely ovation for him today in his memory. I think it affected the boys quite deeply and we’re quite moved. We certainly felt his presence with us today.”If I’m being brutally honest, the round of applause had a profound effect on me. I didn’t think it would, maybe naively, but I certainly felt him with me today and I thought about him a lot while we were batting out there. I think the boys can all feel him sitting on our shoulders up in the dressing-room.”Worcestershire have not yet confirmed the circumstances of Baker’s death, which occurred at his flat just hours after he had taken three wickets in a second XI fixture against Somerset at Bromsgrove School, a fixture that was subsequently abandoned on the final afternoon.Worcestershire did not play in last week’s round of County Championship fixtures, but when the grieving players returned to training on Tuesday, five days after the incident, they were subjected to a scheduled round of spot testing by Ukad, the national anti-doping authorities – a development that was unrelated to Baker’s death and was denounced as “at best insensitive and at worst incompetent” by the CEO of the Professional Cricketers’ Association.Roderick, however, channelled all the agonies of the week into a doughty innings of 281 balls and five fours, which was built around two key stands of 136 with Kashif Ali and 102 with Adam Hose, and only ended deep into the evening session when Joey Evison plucked out his off stump.”I was very, very disappointed to get out at the end but it was a nice wicket to bat on, with not a huge amount of pace on it. At times it was tough to score, it was very true, but once you get in on that, you can actually kick on.”We talked about in the morning, sometimes things are a bit bigger than cricket, a bit more important,” Roderick said. “Some guys like the distraction of being able to put their mind elsewhere, other guys like to stay away to digest it individually and come to terms with what’s happened.”But today was just about making sure we pulled together as a unit and remembered him. And that’s what we did. We carried him with us today, and thankfully we put together a decent day.”

Both teams are playing their first T20 World Cup, in a match that has plenty of sub-plots to look forward to if the rain stays away in Dallas

Hemant Brar01-Jun-2024

Match details

United States of America vs Canada
Dallas, 7.30pm local

Big picture – USA start as favourites

In a way, it’s fitting that cricket’s oldest international rivalry will kick off its biggest World Cup, comprising 20 teams. Long before Australia and England played the first-ever Test in 1877, USA and Canada locked horns in a three-day game in 1844. In that match in New York, Canada came out on top by 23 runs.One-hundred-and-eighty years later, the same two teams will come face to face in the T20 World Cup 2024 opener in Dallas. Coincidentally, it is the first T20 World Cup for both sides. USA qualified by virtue of being the co-hosts and Canada by winning the Americas Qualifier.Related

• USA vice-captain Aaron Jones on rivalry with Canada: 'Has been going on for years and years'

• T20 World Cup is coming to America… but is America aware?

• Dallas dreams of cricket

• The oldest international contest of them all

Saturday’s game will be the first T20I at the Grand Prairie Stadium. But there is hardly any buzz in Dallas, which means the 7000-seater may not be packed to capacity. Moreover, a thunderstorm could play spoilsport, as it did during the warm-ups for both sides at this very venue.Nevertheless, USA will be the favourites on Saturday. While they have played only seven T20Is since the 2022 T20 World Cup – all in the last two months – that was enough to show their pedigree. They first beat Canada 4-0 before stunning Bangladesh 2-1, both times playing at home.If the rain stays away, Corey Anderson, the former New Zealand allrounder who now plays for USA, will become the fifth player to represent two teams at the T20 World Cup. Former India Under-19 World Cup winner Harmeet Singh, once touted as the next Bishan Bedi, is also expected to play a key role with bat and ball.In left-arm seamer Kaleem Sana, Canada have got someone who once dismissed Babar Azam in a first-class game in Pakistan. They also have 37-year-old Jeremy Gordon, one of the fastest bowlers in associate cricket.Among other sub-plots, Canada coach Pubudu Dassanayake was previously with USA in the same role, and batting-allrounder Nitish Kumar, who now plays for USA, was with Canada till 2019.

Form guide

United States of America LWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Canada LLLLW

In the spotlight – Corey Anderson and Aaron Johnson

Corey Anderson made his T20I debut for USA in April. He started with scores of 28 and 55, but at the same time, he looked a bit rusty. In five T20Is he has played for USA till now, he has struck at 112.30. Once upon a time, he held the record for the fastest ODI hundred. Can he turn the clock back to those days?Originally from Jamaica, Aaron Johnson is a powerful opening batter who loves playing no-look shots. The 33-year-old made his T20I debut for Canada in 2022. In 16 games so far, he has scored 713 runs at an average of 50.92 and a strike rate of 166.58. He has five fifties, two hundreds and 48 sixes in the format.Aaron Johnson has five fifties and two hundreds in 16 T20I innings•Getty Images

Team news

In Steven Taylor, Monank Patel and Andries Gous, USA have a solid top order. Ali Khan and Saurabh Netravalkar will lead the pace unit. Harmeet, their main spinner, can also provide late-order hitting.United States of America (probable XI): 1 Steven Taylor, 2 Monank Patel (capt, wk), 3 Andries Gous, 4 Aaron Jones, 5 Nitish Kumar, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Harmeet Singh, 8 Shadley van Schalkwyk, 9 Jasdeep Singh, 10 Ali Khan, 11 Saurabh NetravalkarCanada will rely a lot on their bowlers. Apart from Gordon and Sana, they have Dilon Heyliger in the pace attack. Captain Saad Bin Zafar and Nikhil Dutta know how to keep batters quiet with their spin variations.Canada (probable XI): 1 Aaron Johnson, 2 Navneet Dhaliwal, 3 Rayyan Pathan, 4 Nicholas Kirton, 5 Pargat Singh, 6 Shreyas Movva (wk), 7 Saad Bin Zafar (capt), 8 Nikhil Dutta, 9 Dilon Heyliger, 10 Jeremy Gordon, 11 Kaleem Sana

Stats that matter

• Taylor and Patel have six 50-plus stands in the 12 T20I innings in which they have opened together for USA. Their partnership run rate is 9.65.
• Since the last T20 World Cup in 2022, only two batters have scored 700 or more runs at a 50-plus average and a 150-plus strike rate: India’s Suryakumar Yadav and Canada’s Aaron Johnson.
• Across all T20s, Johnson has taken Netravalkar for 50 runs in 30 balls while getting out only once.
• Aaron Jones has smashed Heyliger for 23 runs in 11 balls for one dismissal. But Saad has had the wood over him: two dismissals in 23 balls for just 15 runs.
• Saad is the only bowler to have registered four maidens in a T20I, a feat he achieved against Panama in 2021 when he finished with figures of 4-4-0-2.
• So far, only four players have represented two different teams at the T20 World Cup: Roelof van der Merwe (South Africa and Netherlands), Dirk Nannes (Netherlands and Australia), David Wiese (South Africa and Namibia) and Mark Chapman (Hong Kong and New Zealand). Anderson could join them on Saturday.

Pitch and conditions

Of the four warm-up games scheduled here, only one saw some action. Batting first in that, Canada posted 183 for 7. In response, Nepal were all out for 120. There is a 40% chance of rain on Saturday, though.

Quotes

“I will say fearless cricket, positive cricket, smart cricket. I think that’s what we’re really and truly trying to do. We don’t want to regret anything. We want to leave everything out there on the park. And then, obviously, if we come out on top, it’s great. If we don’t come out on top, that’s how cricket goes sometimes. But we don’t want to regret anything.”
“At the national level, we are rivals because we are from the same region. We tend to play against each other a lot. Most of the time it’s in qualifiers where there’s a lot on the line, whether it’s the ODI status or the T20 World Cup qualification. But at the same time, we do play a lot of tournaments and franchise cricket in the North American region. So there’s a lot of friendships between the two countries as well.”

Board is hopeful of creating a demographically-reflective national men’s team by the 2027 ODI World Cup

Firdose Moonda25-Jul-2024Cricket South Africa [CSA] will host a three-day diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) Indaba (conference) from Friday, with the main aim of identifying a roadmap to ensure a demographically-reflective national men’s team by the 2027 ODI World Cup at home.They will also address issues of representation in the game overall but have changed the labelling of the event from Transformation to DEI to reflect an agenda that addresses the cricketing infrastructure in totality and is not entirely focused on a particular race group.”It is not only about black players but about building a diverse structure,” Mudutambi Ravele, CSA board member and DEI Chairperson told ESPNcricinfo. “For example, we have looked at the data from the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) province and seen that the number of players of Indian heritage has got less and less. We want to address that. We have looked at Limpopo and there are no white players. We can’t have that. We want to address the issues holistically.”The cases explained above are important when contextualised against the backdrop of South Africa’s history, demographics, and national representation in cricket. While 84.8% of the population is black African, before readmission in 1992, South Africa fielded all-white national sides. Since then, efforts have been made to reflect the country’s other, and most significantly, majority race group, but there was only one black African player in the T20 World Cup 2024 squad – an issue that raised concerns and makes the timing of this conference important.Related

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• Rabada on transformation: 'I'm a black player, but I'm not invincible'

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• T20 World Cup squad: CSA criticised for failing to meet transformation targets

• CSA punished for slow transformation

While CSA has expressed concerns with the lack of black African international players, they also hope to develop the game holistically, especially in places where they can identify gaps in the talent pool such as in Ravele’s examples. The KZN province is the area in the country with the largest percentage of people of Indian descent – 9.3% compared to 2.7% countrywide – while Limpopo, the northernmost province of the country, has a 97.3% black African population but still around 2% of white citizens. Both those race groups have historically high participation in cricket and CSA will seek to understand why those numbers have dipped.However, even their more wide-reaching approach does not take away from the key problem which is the lack of black African representation, that could set CSA back on the agreed annual targets with the country’s sports ministry. In 2016, failure to meet targets saw CSA, and three other sporting federations, banned from hosting major events and with 2027 in mind, CSA is keen to demonstrate a strong commitment to change.When asked why Kagiso Rabada was the only black African in the T20 World Cup squad, South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter pointed to the domestic system and asked it to “really up the ante”. Broadly, CSA agrees with him. At the time, they recognised that “various initiatives that have been pursued over the years have not yielded the desired results,” and now, Ravele said they continue to look at the domestic system to identify where it is lacking.”We want to look at the pool of players who are available and how we can support them to stay in the pool. There are a number of social issues that affect players from disadvantaged backgrounds.”CSA has also launched a specialised program for black African batters since this is an area of particular need.Walter will be present at the DEI , where he will be part of a panel of a discussion with black African batter Khaya Zondo, women’s international bowler Tumi Sekhukhune and former selector Patrick Moroney, who served on South Africa’s last panel under Victor Mpitsang.The selection committee was done away with when Walter and Test coach Shukri Conrad (who will not be in attendance as he readies the squad to leave for a two-match series in West Indies) were appointed last January. As head coaches, they were given sole decision-making powers over their squad selections. This is likely to change with some inside CSA pushing for the return of a panel, which Ravele supports. “A panel helps a lot because there are different views and people can think more broadly. There are more ideas,” she said.If the re-introduction of a selection panel emerges as one of the recommendations from the , it will still need to be ratified by CSA’s board but will ultimately take away Walter and Conrad’s independence.Kagiso Rabada was the only black African in South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad•ICC/Getty Images

The squad Walter picked for the T20 World Cup 2024 was South Africa’s most successful and reached the final for the first time, but Ravela would not be drawn into conflating their success with the issue of representation. “The squad did really well, but did they do well because they didn’t have black players? I think we should view their performance as a matter of progress, as they have been to the semi-finals several times before.”She stressed that CSA will not revert to stipulating a quota for XIs, as they have done in the past, but remain set on average goals. “For the national teams, we don’t put a number of players per event. We want to develop a plan for the year and ask what combinations of players can be used to make sure we are fielding diverse teams.”As things stand, South Africa’s national teams are required to field, on average over the course of a season, at least six players of colour of which two must be black African. At the provincial level, the same target is expected to be met but at least three of the six players of colour must be black African.The SA20, in which CSA owns the majority share although teams are privately owned, has no transformation target or even expectation imposed on it and will remain untouched. Ravele hoped that the franchise owners would keep South Africa’s segregated history and attempts at redress “in the back of their minds,” but so far, the competition is the least representative domestic event. In 2024, there were 13 black African players listed across the six squads, with one – the Pretoria Capitals – having none at all. Of those, only Rabada (MI Cape Town), Junior Dala, Tony de Zorzi (both Durban’s Super Giants), Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo (both Paarl Royals) and Sibonelo Makhanya (Joburg Super Kings) played more than one match for their team.