First trickles of a new wave in South Africa

The first trickles of a new wave of young South Africans looking to fulfil their cricketing dreams in England has begun.

That's according to the former president of the United Cricket Board, Ray White, who was a captivating guest speaker this week at a meeting of the Pietermaritzburg branch of the SA Institute of International Affairs. But whereas the last great trek to England, in the late 1970s and 1980s, was due to South Africa's exclusion from the international arena because of apartheid, this latest round of emigration is, ironically, due to a new racial policy - that of quotas for the number of players of colour in teams at school, provincial and national level.

White is adamant the crusaders for quotas are not doing the game any good and are ultimately damaging their own cause - that of developing top-quality cricketers from the previously disadvantaged communities.

He pointed out that the quota system has already cost the country three very promising young cricketers "and it's just a trickle now, but it will become a flood".

"Ryan Sierra, from St John's, is a brilliant left-hand batsman who averaged over 80 at school level. But he was left out of the SA U19 team to tour India and replaced by a player of colour who averaged only 20 at school level. Now is that a merit selection?"

"Sierra was this year one of 17 players contracted to the Gauteng Cricket Board but did not play a single game because of quotas at provincial level. So he has decided to make other arrangements and he is moving to England and will qualify instead to play for them. Remember his name," White said. "Then there's Michael Lumb, who did play for the SA U19s but has now signed a contract with Yorkshire, and a very promising young Free State fast bowler, whose name I would rather not reveal, but he can hardly speak English and is making the big step of moving from Bloemfontein to England." White also believes that the country's top cricketing schools are getting a rough deal from the UCB.

"Our schools' cricket nursery is our greatest asset and we need to nurture that like never before because things are not so easy for schools anymore. Our top 40 cricketing schools must remain strong for the next 30 or 40 years and I can guarantee you that our first great black cricketer will come from one of those traditional school powers. The UCB needs to fertilise the best ground too and it is obvious that when R21 million goes to the development programme but at least half of the top 40 schools have received no money from the UCB in the last 10 years, that there is a total imbalance. Also the government, who are very quick to meddle, only contribute R100 000 out of the UCB's annual revenue of R100 million," White said.

White, who stepped down as the UCB president earlier this month because he could no longer stomach the "extremely unpleasant" campaign being waged against him in the executive, explained why he believes the all-consuming drive for quotas will eventually destroy the game.

"Quotas, especially at school level, make me very uneasy," White said. "All selections should be on merit otherwise there is no yardstick to measure the success of the development programme. It's fine to have selection resting on targets, but it's no good if three places in the team are just filled by the three best cricketers of colour. That will be harmful in the long run." White, who was educated at Hilton College and Maritzburg Varsity, stressed, however, that there was plenty of great black talent, especially in the traditional cricket schools and he was optimistic that, provided the route into the new millenium was chosen carefully, "cricket in South Africa will survive, as it did through the Boer War, two world wars, the depression and apartheid."