The Warriors cricket team in Gqeberha has been disqualified from the domestic one-day cup playoffs after being penalized five points for not meeting Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) transformation targets. On February 16, they fielded only two Black African players instead of the required three against the Dolphins, leading to their demotion from third to fourth place in the standings. The Dolphins received four points and will host the knockout match against the Titans. CSA also imposed a monetary fine and warned that further breaches would result in additional penalties. The Warriors risk relegation due to their current standing across competitions.
The Warriors, a provincial team from Gqeberha, will not participate in the domestic one-day cup playoffs due to a points deduction for not meeting Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) transformation objectives.
On Monday afternoon, CSA confirmed the penalty through a statement that also included a monetary fine of an undisclosed amount. “A monetary fine has been included, with 50% due before the end of the current financial year,” the statement noted. “The remaining 50% will be held in suspension for five years and enacted only if a similar violation occurs within that timeframe.”
Currently, the Warriors find themselves at the bottom of the consolidated standings, which encompass performance in first-class, one-day, and T20 matches, placing them at risk of relegation to South Africa’s second division. The team that finishes last in Division One will automatically be demoted to Division Two, while the top team in Division Two will be promoted.
Teams that fail to meet transformation targets without a valid explanation (such as injuries) must present their case to the CSA board. In this case, the Warriors were required to address the CSA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commission, where they justified their team selection based on “cricketing reasons.” The DEI subsequently decided on an appropriate penalty, opting to deduct points from the Warriors and award them to the Dolphins.
Notification of the points deduction was dispatched to teams on Sunday evening, three weeks after the incident occurred, and just two days before the knockout matches. No rationale has been provided for the delay, and it seems not all CSA members were informed of the points adjustment. On Monday, CSA’s own website erroneously stated that Titans and Warriors had qualified for the playoffs while Dolphins had not; however, the points table provided by CSA’s statistics team confirmed the revised standings and included this note: “Warriors were penalised all 5 points for their match against Dolphins on February 16 for violating Clause 3.2.2 of the Administrative Conditions by failing to comply with the on-field requirement of a minimum of three Black African players in the starting eleven. Dolphins were awarded 4 points for the match.”
There is no appeals process for penalties issued for missed targets, but ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Warriors have submitted a legal letter to CSA in an effort to overturn the punishment. This outcome seems unlikely, as the Dolphins have already begun promoting the playoff match at their home venue, coupled with the short timeframe. Furthermore, the Warriors, like every team, consented to CSA’s administrative conditions at the season’s outset, which includes adherence to transformation targets—this requirement has been in place every season since targets were reinstated in 2013.
CSA’s transformation target mandates that domestic teams must have six players of colour in their XI, including at least three black African players. This differs from the national team’s objective of six players of colour, with at least two being black African, which is averaged over the season, granting them more leeway. A similar idea was proposed for domestic teams in 2018 but was dismissed during a coaches’ conference in favor of more strictly enforced targets for every match.
Multiple sources have informed ESPNcricinfo that the process for obtaining an exemption from CSA due to injury is generally straightforward and efficient. However, the Warriors did not cite any injured players and indicated that their selection was based on strategic considerations instead. Tactical adjustments do not constitute valid reasons for not meeting transformation targets.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent for South Africa and women’s cricket