PRETORIA, July 7: South African cricket underwent a major policy shift on Sunday when the United Cricket Board (UCB) scrapped race quotas.

Senior provincial teams were to have included a mandatory four players of colour next season and, while no such rules existed for the South Africa national team, the UCB had insisted that the national selectors not pick all-white sides.

In future, the South African team and the senior sides representing the 11 provinces will be chosen entirely on merit.

“We have seen enough real change that these sides can be selected on merit and we have enough real quality players of colour that their presence in these senior teams no longer needs to be dictated by a quota system,” UCB president Percy Sonn said.

The policy change followed a three-day meeting near Pretoria involving 150 of the game’s most prominent figures.

A UCB media release said cricket in the Republic “had grown beyond its own expectations when targets for transformation were set three years ago.”

“That success has meant that we can now be confident that we can move from numbers-based transformation to one which is driven by ownership... responsibility and teamwork,” Sonn added.

“Transformation will continue apace in cricket as we endeavour to take the game to everyone who wishes to play it and administer it in our country, but we now believe that cricket people are mature enough to take responsibility.”

Two guidelines replace the quota: provincial B and lower level teams should contain at least 50 percent players of colour including at least one black African, “to encourage the advancement... into senior provincial and national teams”.

Provinces will be monitored, encouraged and expected to stick to the guidelines, UCB chief executive Gerald Majola was quoted as saying.—Reuters