CSA selector Patrick Moroney has opened up about Otniel Baartman’s claims that he was not informed about being left out of South Africa’s squad for the T20 World Cup. Moroni said that the fast bowler was spoken to well before the official announcement and the conversation was clear and direct.
During the recently concluded SA20, Otniel Baartman said that he was not contacted before or after the announcement of South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad. The Paarl Royals and Proteas fast bowler told reporters that none of the selectors contacted him regarding his omission.
Former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn has questioned Otniel Baartman’s absence, saying the fast bowler has time and again shown that he is one of the country’s top performers in the shortest format.
I’ve talked to Otniel Bartman – Patrick Moroni
Speaking to SportsBoom.co.za, Patrick Moroney said that Otniel Baartman was contacted long before the team was announced. He said Bartman was placed on the backup list.
Moroni said, “Ottaniel, I’ve talked to him. I mean, I called him. I talked to him.” “So how and why he said that to the media, you probably need to know from him, not from me. But it is definitely a fact that he was talked to.
“Unfortunately, in a party make-up, there is no room [Lungi] Ngidi and Bartman. They bowl more or less at the same pace and have similar variations.
“So you had to pick a player, and Otniel was made very aware in our conversation on January 1 that he is part of the backup list and will be monitored. If the need arises, we will push his button if needed.
You might ask him why he said that – Patrick Moroni on Otniel Bartman
Patrick Moroney stated that the board’s position on Otniel Bartman never changed and was clearly communicated to the player. Moroney said Bartman had received a phone call, rejecting the claim that no communication had taken place.
“So it’s very, very clear. I don’t know why we still have to keep repeating it. It’s been cleared up. He knows that, for us, the situation never changed. As I said, you could probably ask him why he said he never spoke to. And in my words, ‘never spoke’ means he never called – and that’s not true.”
Bartman finished the SA20 season as the top wicket-taker, winning the Purple Cap for the second time.
The first thing we had to do was present the team to the ICC – Patrick Moroney
Patrick Moroney said that the final list was to be submitted on 1 January and had already been locked in, which meant that performances during the SA20 would not lead to changes in the squad. Moroni said that keeping the team unchanged helped avoid frequent feedback on individual performance.
“We had to submit the team to the ICC first and the team we had selected was not going to change,” he said. “So why keep the whole team in doubt during the entire SA20, if you knew what your team was going to be?
“The last thing you want during SA20 is a knee-jerk reaction every time someone performs. By having players know where they stand, we were able to keep an eye on them from a physical, emotional and performance perspective during SA20, which is ideally what we wanted.
“Some teams decided to announce their squads well before the deadline, and some waited until the last minute. Our team was selected and there were going to be no changes. Unfortunately, injuries had an impact, but we already had our standby list before the SA20. The players knew who was on that list, and we executed accordingly.”
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