Henry remains in charge of SA selection panel

Omar Henry, South Africa's convenor of selectors, kept his job today - although the board of Cricket South Africa streamlined the selection panel, which now consists of four members rather than the previous six. Henry will be joined on the panel by Gary Kirsten, who was named today as South Africa's new high-performance manager; Eric Simons, the national coach; and one other selector, who will be announed shortly after nominations are received from the new provincial franchises.

The four selectors will choose the squads for overseas tours and home Tests, but the make-up of the final XIs will be left to the coach and the captain, Graeme Smith, who was reappointed for another year in charge.

Kirsten's appointment to the new post of high-performance manager carries a two-year contract. Kirsten, South Africa's most-capped player, will take responsibility for identifying and guiding young cricketers who show potential to play for the national team. He will work closely with the six provincial coaches, and will assist with the development of the players on both the technical and mental levels.

The meeting also considered the case of Diteko Modise, the UCB's former finance and administration manager, who has appeared for remand on criminal fraud charges. The board recommended that Cricket South Africa's audit committee review the completed forensic audit report into Mr Modise's alleged financial irregularities. The UCB has successfully applied to have his assets frozen.

Before the meeting started, the board members observed a minute's silence in memory of Krish Mackerdhuj, the former United Cricket Board president, who died in Durban on Wednesday morning.