Kieswetter yet another South African representing England

Cricket


Craig Kieswetter recently became the latest South African-born cricketer to propel himself into the current England squad. The wicketkeeper-batsman, 22, only became fully qualified to represent his country four days prior to his call-up, with England wasting no time in securing their man after Graeme Smith had made a last-ditch attempt to lure him back to his native country.

Although originally not included in the full international squad to take on Bangladesh, Kieswetter’s form of 279 runs in five Twenty20 innings (including a match-winning 81 against the senior side) for the Lions made him impossible to overlook. The decision to promote him was proved to be the right one as the Somerset opener then hit a destructive 143 on full debut, signalling his intentions to become a permanent fixture in the England side.

As exciting a prospect Kieswetter is however, national selector Geoff Miller made a bold move in selecting yet another player in the England fold with South African ties. No one could doubt he deserved his chance after his sensational recent form, but this now leaves England with three South Africans who have used county cricket to qualify to play for the national side (the other two being Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott). Matt Prior and the currently rested Andrew Strauss were also born in the country.

Miller was asked about the prospect of more South Africans representing England and admitted the selectors had to be “very careful” over more players like Kieswetter breaking into the side and that they needed to “monitor” the situation. Following these comments one can assume the ECB has voiced concerns over the issue, after all Miller’s position is judged upon player performances and will continue to pick what he considers to be the best eleven players available to represent the country, regardless of their background.

It is hard to contemplate that no more South Africans will qualify, and subsequently produce form worthy of representing England. The next player to fit into that category could be Michael Lumb. Like Kieswetter, Lumb came to country cricket with an English passport after representing South Africa in the Under-19 World Cup. Also on the current Lions tour, Lumb has come into his own, scoring runs for fun at an alarming rate.

With a sense of apprehension within the ECB on the inclusion of more South Africans in the England set-up, the issue finds itself in a precarious position, Kieswetter having every right to be selected for his adopted country under the current eligibility requirements.

Even though there will be many quick to question the credibility of selections such as these, England’s failure to embrace players in the future who have qualified for the country in a similar vein would be discriminatory.

One would hope the ECB’s uneasy stance on the number of South Africans representing England does not force the likes of Lumb to be overlooked for selection merely to comply with a behind the scenes quota they may seek to meet. Credibility would then be lost completely.