Cricket South Africa denies racial quotas issue behind coach Arthur’s resignation

East London (S. Africa), - Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola has said coach Mickey Arthur’s resignation was not linked to disagreements over race quotas.

“Mickey’s resignation is not for any reasons of transformation. As far as we are concerned, he achieved his targets, which are measured over a period of time and not just over one Test,” The Guardian quoted Majola, as saying.

“We believe as a board that Mickey has been very successful. His resignation came through the normal stock taking process, which followed the England home series and against the backdrop of the disappointing results of 2009. As this process unfolded and remedies were sought, Mickey expressed the very honest and humble view that he did not believe that at this stage he could continue as coach,” Majola added.

But, nearly 16 years after the African National Congress took power with the election of Nelson Mandela as the country’s president, South Africa did not field a single black player in the last two Tests against England once they had taken the politically fraught decision to drop Makhaya Ntini. With Ntini’s Test career surely over, that automatically focused attention on the slow pace of change.

Arthur would only admit to a different vision, saying: “It was clear that the vision I had and Cricket South Africa’s vision are different. I am disappointed, because when I started there I said I wanted to get South Africa to No.1 in both forms of the game, I wanted to be the first South African coach to win in England, and the first to win in Australia. The only thing I didn’t achieve was an ICC trophy.”

Tension in South African cricket would reduce if Lonwabo Tsotsobe, a left-arm bowler for Warriors, proved himself in India a replacement for Ntini, but his breakthrough is far from certain. Tsotsobe is 25 and has yet to make his Test debut, and has only three one-day caps despite taking four wickets on debut against Australia in Perth a year ago.

Progress of black players in South Africa at all levels remains slowed by poverty and a lack of facilities, a fact that the South African government cannot afford to address fully.

Cricket is an expensive sport to stage successfully, the privileged protect their facilities jealously, the most successful players still tend to be white, and coaching schemes in the townships have recently been reduced.

The debate about quotas - the sort of debate that caused Kevin Pietersen to leave South Africa in protest and qualify for England - remains as controversial as ever. (ANI)