Cricket South Africa (CSA) has asserted it remains “fully committed” to both international cricket and the domestic SA20 tournament as it defended naming a shadow side for the Test tour of New Zealand, which has faced backlash from current and former players.
South Africa named as many as seven uncapped players, including a new captain, for the two-Test series, while top cricketers will play the second season of the SA20 which clashes with the tour.
“The board of Cricket South Africa notes the concerns about the composition of the Test squad that will be travelling to New Zealand later this month. We reassure the fans that CSA has the utmost respect for the Test format as the pinnacle of the game we love.
“CSA remains fully committed to international cricket and to strengthening the SA20,” CSA said in a statement.
“The dates for this tour were set when the Future Tours Programme for 2023-2027 was finalised in 2022. The window for the SA20 had not been determined at that stage.
“Once it became apparent that there would be a clash, we made every effort to find another mutually suitable time-slot for this 2 Test series in consultation with New Zealand Cricket,” said CSA.
