Johannesburg – South Africa have opted for the carrot rather than the stick to boost the number of top-tier black African cricketers.

Plans to force the six franchises to field at least two black Africans in the three domestic competitions were shelved this weekend in favour of cash incentives.

Teams are expected to field one black African in all matches and if they pick two for at least 70 percent of fixtures, the salaries of both will be footed by Cricket South Africa (CSA).

“We are not talking about quotas or sanctions-driven policies,” stressed CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

“We are talking about incentives at franchise level … we want to accelerate transformation,” he said at the annual CSA meeting in Johannesburg.

CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the initiative was part of a drive to make cricket more representative of South Africa’s population.

Only five black Africans — Makhaya Ntini, Mfuneko Ngam, Thami Tsolekile, Monde Zondeki, Lonwabo Tsotsobe — have represented South Africa since readmission 22 years ago.

The republic was barred from international cricket for several decades because of apartheid.
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