Andrew Hall goes to bat for Temba Bavuma — and against quotas
Quota tag puts unnecessary pressure on batsman who has earned his Proteas place by often bailing SA out of trouble in Tests‚ former national player says
London — Temba Bavuma represents many things to many people‚ and to one former SA player he is an argument for abolishing quota selection. “Realistically‚ they should be scrapped‚” Andrew Hall said about what Cricket SA calls the “target” of picking five black players‚ two of them black Africans‚ in the national team. “It’s pointless to have quotas and put players under the pressure of having that tag.” Which brought Hall to Bavuma. “Why does he have to carry the big Q around his neck? He’s a superb player. Don’t put that pressure on him. Leave him alone and let him play and he’ll come good and score you runs.” Hall played 21 Tests and 90 white-ball internationals in which he earned a reputation for getting the job done — most famously when he delivered a convincing impression of an opener in Kanpur in November 2004 — scoring 163 in almost 10 hours at the crease against Zaheer Khan‚ Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Not bad for a bloke who‚ in his previous innings‚ made 32 batting at...
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