The Warriors, a provincial cricket team from Gqeberha, have been disqualified from the domestic one-day cup playoffs. This comes after they were penalized for not meeting Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) transformation goals.
On February 16th, in a match against the Dolphins, the Warriors played only two black African players instead of the required three. They did not provide any explanation or request for exemption beforehand. As a result, they have been docked five points, the points they earned for winning that game.
This penalty has dropped the Warriors from third to fourth place in the standings, costing them a playoff spot. The Dolphins, who were their opponents in the match, have been awarded four points and have moved up to second place, overtaking the Titans.
The Dolphins will now host the playoff match against the Titans on Wednesday. The winner of this match will then face Boland in the final on Sunday. Before the Warriors’ sanction, the Titans were in second place and were set to host the Warriors for the playoff game.
CSA confirmed the sanction on Monday, also imposing an undisclosed monetary fine. According to the statement, half of the fine is due before the end of the current financial year. The remaining half will be suspended for five years, but will be activated if a similar violation occurs within that time.
The Warriors are now also at the bottom of the overall standings, considering first-class, one-day, and T20 cricket performances. This puts them at risk of being relegated to the second division of South African provincial cricket. The bottom team in Division One is automatically relegated, while the top team in Division Two is promoted.
Teams that fail to meet transformation targets without a valid reason, such as injury, must explain themselves to the CSA board. In this case, the Warriors presented their case to the CSA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commission. Reportedly, the Warriors stated that their team selection was based on ‘cricketing reasons’. The DEI commission then decided on the penalty: deducting points from the Warriors and awarding them to the Dolphins.
The notification of the points deduction was given to teams on Sunday evening, three weeks after the incident and just two days before the playoff matches. No reason has been given for this delay, and it seems not everyone at CSA was aware of the change in points. On Monday, CSA’s website still showed the Titans and Warriors in playoff positions, while the Dolphins were out. However, the updated points table from CSA’s stats team confirmed the new standings, noting the penalty against the Warriors for not including the minimum number of black African players in their game against the Dolphins on February 16.
There is no appeals process for these sanctions. However, ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Warriors have sent a legal letter to CSA to try and reverse the punishment. This is unlikely to succeed, especially as the Dolphins are already advertising the playoff match at their home ground. Furthermore, all teams, including the Warriors, agreed to CSA’s administrative conditions, which include transformation targets, at the start of the season. These targets have been in place every season since 2013.
CSA’s transformation policy for domestic teams requires them to field six players of color in each XI, with at least three being black African. This differs from the national team’s target, which is six players of color including at least two black African players, calculated as an average over a season for more flexibility. A similar averaged target was suggested for domestic teams in 2018 but was rejected by coaches in favor of stricter targets for each match.
This is not the first time a team has missed the target, especially this season. In 2019, the Cape Cobras missed the target but were not penalized after providing explanations to CSA. This season, Titans, North West, Lions, and Western Province also failed to field the required number of black African players at least once. However, in each case, these teams contacted CSA and received permission for the deviation, agreeing to compensate by fielding an extra black African player in a future match this season.
Sources have informed ESPNcricinfo that getting an exemption from CSA due to injury is usually straightforward. However, the Warriors did not claim any injuries and stated their selection was based on tactical reasons. Tactical choices are not considered valid grounds for failing to meet transformation targets.
