Abstract
This dissertation dissects three decades of cricketing unity, to assess the gains towards racially transforming the game by evaluating its possibilities, successes and roadblocks that are still part of this journey. It explores how class and race privilege impacted the selection frequencies within the senior men’s national team for the period 1991 ‒ 2020. The slow change in the demographic representivity of the national team spurred the researcher to explore the possible reasons for this trend and assess the impact of Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) policies to advance transformation. The Quality of Opportunity Tool provided a wealth of data that enabled analysing what happened on the field of play once players are selected. It assisted and advanced a fairer selection process. This facilitated the ability to discern whether players chosen, for example, as opening bowlers were in fact given that opportunity.
The dissertation also focuses on CSA’s transformation efforts, especially the Hubs Programme, which were designed to ameliorate the inherited geo-spatial inequality based on race and class. These interventions served to advance the process of redress and improve social equity within the cricket environment. The broad finding of this study confirms that race, class and space remain major obstacles for transformation in cricket. Concerted efforts are needed to stem, and then to reverse the impact of growing inequality within a democratic South Africa. School sport must be the bedrock for talent incubation and advancement. South African society as a whole must engage in reflective scrutiny and consider the issues of privilege and inclusive excellence in order to advance towards a future that is more just.
Redress in cricket is an act of social justice. The findings support the central role of CSA cricket Hubs in promoting further development of cricket talent, and that expanding them further is vital for achieving this objective in the shortest possible time. The Department of Basic Education has collaborated with Senwes Farm Schools’ Project is intended to grow the game in South Africa’s rural areas, as is the existing and new partnership with tertiary institutions that serve as centres of excellence. The findings also reference the value of the Quality of Opportunity tool to serve as a monitoring and evaluation instrument so as to embed fair selection practices at all levels. Finally, the efforts of Government as an enabler of sports development should be channelled through the departments of Sport, Arts and Culture, and Basic Education in the first instance.
This research has potentially opened up valuable areas for future empirical scrutiny. They include SA schools as talent incubators, the role that community-owned cricket facilities can play, and the measures that could be put in place to rapidly expand the women’s game and eradicate the still prevalent sentiment that theirs is merely an appendage of the existing patriarchal order of things.