UCB to unveil racial charter

CAPE TOWN, Jan 3 (AFP/Reuters): South Africa's cricketers were snubbed by Sports Minister Steve Tshwete on Saturday as they continued to dominate their series against the West Indian tourists.

Tshwete said he could not support the South African team. He criticised the selectors for failing to give opportunities to more black players after Hansie Cronje's team clinched the series in the third Test.

His comments came as the United Cricket Board (UCB) prepared to unveil a transformation charter today which will pledge to make the promotion of cricket among black Africans its top priority.

The document has been 18 months in the preparation but has been released at a time when the sport is under growing pressure to increase the number of black players in the Test team.

In a "pledge to the nation" prefacing the charter, UCB president Ray White reaffirmed the board's "historic and moral duty to ensure that South African cricket grows and flourishes among the truly disadvantaged of our society, with the recognition that the majority of disadvantaged people come from our black communities."

The charter includes a ten-point plan to broaden the playing and support base of the game. It covers everything from the board's constitution to properly recording the century-old history of black cricket in the republic.

South Africa included two coloured players in Herschelle Gibbs and Paul Adams in their side for the fourth Test.

The charter makes no mention of quotas for black players but the board has already announced it is no longer appropriate for South Africa to field an all-white team.

But Tshwete told the Johannesburg Sunday Times newspaper that transformation in sport was not happening fast enough.

"I am worried that we will be sending white teams to the rugby and cricket World Cups in Britain this year. If that is the case it will be difficult for me to support them."

Tshwete said he was concerned about all South African sports. "At the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia last year you could have switched the labels on the South African and English teams if you judged them by the percentage of black athletes."

South African cricket boss Ali Bacher hit back at Tshwete.

"The board has enormous respect for Mr Tshwete, who played a crucial role in the unification of cricket. But we disagree on this issue," he said.

"If we had picked a below-strength team for the Newlands Test it would have been demanding to our opponents from the West Indies and their supporters around the world, unfair to the commercial stakeholders in the game, and would have devalued the honour and privilege of representing South Africa in a Test match."

White will unveil the charter during the tea break on the second day of the fourth Test today.

He will emphasise that the charter is the result of 15 months of internal soul-searching and dialogue, rather than a response to criticism by political figures such as Tshwete and Mluleki George, chairman of the National Sports Council, the country's overriding sports controlling body.

White will pledge that the board, "Operating in a African context", recognises a historic and moral duty to serve the "truly disadvantaged", most of whom are black Africans.

Tshwete welcomed the charter and its recognition of the need to uplift black African cricket, he said, though, that transformation in sport had not gone far enough.

He said he was heartened by an assurance that from next season it would be compulsory for all provincial teams to include players of colour.

"There is a problem at provincial level," he said. "The provinces are frustrating and suppressing black talent. The development programme in cricket started a long time ago. We see players coming through at the youth levels but they should then go straight into the provincial teams."

Political criticism has dogged the South African team since an all-while side was picked for the first Test. South Africa won the first three matches of the five-Test series and hammered the tourists again Saturday, scoring 282 for two by the end of the first day.

Despite more criticism in the days leading up to the Test at Newlands, a capacity crowd of 22,000 watched Saturday's play. The gates were closed before lunch.