JOHANNESBURG – Cricket South Africa chief executive Thabang Moroe has reiterated that Linda Zondi’s selection panel and coach Ottis Gibson would be under no pressure to meet any racial targets when picking the World Cup squad.
Gibson, along with the selection convenor Zondi, is in the process of finalising the 15-man squad for the Cricket World Cup that will be played in the UK from late May.
“It is up to the selectors and the coach what the final 15 will look like,” Moroe said on Wednesday.
“I would like to think they will have that (target) picture in mind. Most importantly, the final 15 will be the best that we have in the country.”
Moroe added that the Gibson, Zondi and skipper Faf du Plessis would have the final say over the starting XI for all matches in England.
It would thus avoid the drama and controversy that broke out before the semi-final in Auckland four years ago, when it is believed that a directive from Cricket SA led to Kyle Abbott being dropped from the team that faced New Zealand.
“We don’t know what playing conditions will be like on the day.
“The final XI that the convenor of selectors, the coach and the captain agree on, on a particular day for a specific match, is really the final XI that will be representing SA, and we’d like to think they will pick a team to win that specific match and not to push a certain agenda,” Moroe explained.
Zondi will announce the 15-man squad on April 18. That group will gather in Cape Town for the first half of a week-long training camp.
South Africa will face England in the opening match of the 2019 World Cup on May 30 at The Oval.
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