CSA selector Patrick Moroney opened up about claims from Ottneil Baartman that he wasn’t informed about his omission from South Africa’s squad for the T20 World Cup. Moroney stated that the pacer was spoken to well before the official announcement, adding that the communication was clear and direct.
During the recently concluded SA20, Ottneil Baartman said that he was not contacted either before or after South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad was announced. The Paarl Royals and Proteas fast bowler told reporters that no one from the selectors reached out to him regarding his omission.
Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn questioned Ottneil Baartman’s absence, saying the fast bowler has repeatedly shown that he is one of the country’s top performers in the shortest format.
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I Have Spoken To Ottneil Baartman – Patrick Moroney
Speaking to SportsBoom.co.za, Patrick Moroney said that Ottneil Baartman was contacted well before the squad was named. He added that Baartman was placed on the backup list.
“Ottneil, I have spoken to him. I mean, I did phone him. I did speak to him,” Moroney said. “So how and why he said that to the media, you maybe need to find out from him, not from me. But that he was spoken to is definitely a fact.
“Unfortunately, in the make-up of a side, there’s no space for [Lungi] Ngidi and Baartman. They bowl more or less the same kind of pace and have the same variations.
“So you had to pick a player, and Ottneil was made very aware in the conversation that we had on 1 January that he’s part of the backup list and that he will be monitored. If the need arises, then we will push his button if need be.
You Maybe Ask Him Why He Said That – Patrick Moroney on Ottneil Baartman
Patrick Moroney stated that the board’s position on Ottneil Baartman never changed and that the player was clearly informed. Moroney added that Baartman did receive a phone call, dismissing claims that no communication took place as incorrect.
“So it’s very, very clear. I don’t know why we still have to rehash this continuously. This has been cleared up. He knows that, for us, the situation never changed. As I said, you maybe ask him why he said he was never spoken to. And in my words, ‘never spoken to’ means he never had a phone call – and that is not true.”
Baartman finished the SA20 season as the top wicket-taker, winning the Purple Cap for the second time.
We Needed to Submit the Team to the ICC on the 1st – Patrick Moroney
Patrick Moroney said that the final list had to be submitted on January 1 and was already locked in, which meant performances during the SA20 would not change the squad. Moroney added that keeping the squad unchanged helped avoid constant reactions to individual performances.
“We needed to submit the team to the ICC on the 1st, and the team that we selected was not going to change,” he said. “So why have a whole squad in doubt throughout the whole SA20 if you knew what your squad was going to be?
“The last thing you want during an SA20 is a knee-jerk reaction every time somebody performs. With players knowing exactly where they stand, we were able to monitor them throughout the SA20 from a physical, emotional and performance point of view, which is ideally what we wanted.
“Some teams chose to announce their squads well before the deadline, and some waited until the last minute. Our squad was selected and it wasn’t going to change. Unfortunately, injuries did have an impact, but prior to the SA20 we already had our standby list. The players knew who was on that list, and we executed accordingly.”
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