Politics has played a spoilsport for the game on several occasions and has plagued the betterment of several cricket playing nations. Recently, fans in South Africa were in for a rude shock, when the government passed a rule, to have a certain number of coloured players in the team. This meant, that the players would be chosen based on racial backgrounds and not on merit.
However, all the worries regarding the future of cricket in South Africa were eased up after the Proteas slammed Australia in the ODI series which concluded a few days ago. A convincing 5-0 victory was enough to remind fans of South Africa’s skills and talent. According to stand in skipper Faf du Plessis, the racial quota rule isn’t much of a worry.
“People will relax now and see that it’s not that bad. People were expecting big changes and big defeats, but now, people can relax and see there is enough talent, no matter what colour you are,” du Plessis said. “Our cricket is in a healthy state. People can be confident that even with those targets, we are a force to be reckoned with.” We try and embrace it. The positive is that it is open and there is an honest policy out there. Everyone knows what it’s all about and everyone can buy into it. As long as you are open and honest, you can move forward,” du Plessis said about the rule.
The right-hander went on to elaborate about the transition of the Proteas outfit. “As a squad, we made a huge transition when we went away and had a hard look at ourselves, and the coaches were part of it. They were really eager to try and improve themselves, and since that day, they have been brilliant. Russell (Coach Russell Domingo) has stepped his game up, he is challenging people and players now, and the coaching staff are demanding more from players,” du Plessis said.
“It’s important we don’t take that for granted because we have an extremely tough Test tour of Australia coming up. I accept that we won’t win every series, but it’s important for us to know what we need to do to be at our best. Russell has been really good. There was a lot of pressure on them after the West Indies tri-series and that’s normal. You get that when a team doesn’t perform, but full credit must go to him for how he has stepped up,” du Plessis concluded.