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South Africa Appoint Patrick Moroney As Chief Selector Ahead Of Australia Tour

Jatin

Team South Africa [Source: @ProteasMenCSA/x.com]Team South Africa [Source: @ProteasMenCSA/x.com]

South African cricket is going through a mini power shift and at the heart of it is a name that has been around the block. Patrick Moroney, a veteran of the selection scene, is officially back in the hot seat.

Patrick Moroney Takes Charge As South Africa’s Convenor Selector

From August 1, Moroney will take charge as the convenor selector for the Proteas men’s team, just in time for the white-ball tour to Australia. It’s a return that has been brewing for years.

Moroney isn’t a new face in the Proteas setup. He has been doing the behind-the-scenes hard yards since 2001. From the National Academy to grooming talent for the Under-19 World Cup, he has had a finger on the pulse of South African cricket for over two decades.

In fact, in 2019, he was one step away from this same role but lost out to Victor Mpitsang. Still, he wasn’t shown the door. He was kept on to assist Mpitsang in the panel.

More recently, he led the Under-19 selection team, the same one that picked exciting young guns like Kwena Maphaka and Lhuan-dre Pretorius for last year’s U-19 World Cup.

Enoch Nkwe, director of national teams and High Performance, gave a glowing endorsement.

“His deep understanding of the game, combined with decades of experience in talent identification and selection across various levels, makes him the ideal person for the job.”

Coach Finally Gets ‘Support’

This marks the first time Shukri Conrad, the Proteas Test coach, will be working alongside a convenor selector since getting the top job in January 2023. When he took over, the entire selection panel was scrapped. For more than a year, Conrad and white-ball coach Rob Walter had the final say in squad selection. No panel, no convenor, just them and the captain.

It led to some bold, even eyebrow-raising decisions. Conrad shocked many by sending Wiaan Mulder to bat at No. 3 in Tests, a move that seemed wild until Mulder smashed a record-breaking 367*.

On the other hand, Walter came under fire for fielding just one black African player during the T20 World Cup campaign, even though the Proteas stormed into the final.

But behind the scenes, Cricket South Africa (CSA) wasn’t fully sold on leaving coaches to juggle both tactics and selections. The board reportedly pushed for a reset, not a full selection panel, but at least a convenor to bring balance to the equation.

By May, interviews were wrapped up and Conrad was made all-format head coach. That’s when CSA made it clear: he’d need some backup. “Support” was the keyword from Nkwe, who added that the coach already has “a lot on his plate.”

Next Stop Down Under

Moroney’s first test will come quick and fast when South Africa fly to Australia for a white-ball series beginning August 10. The squad he helps pick will be a glimpse into what the next generation of Proteas could look like under this revamped setup.