Is it because I is white?

If your name is Andre Nel, then the answer to this question, sadly, is 'Yes'. Nel was selected for the South African tour of India. Nel always gives his best and his best is frequently good enough to worry most batsman, including Brian Lara who he had a penchant for dismissing. However, South Africa have a policy of picking six players ‘of colour’ in their 14 man squad. As a result Nel was replaced, in a process called ‘transformation’, by Charl Langeveldt. How can this possibly be to the advantage of anyone? It is clearly unfair to Nel and it would not be a huge surprise if he now turned his back on South African cricket (just have they have turned their back on him). Langeveldt has been thrust into the ‘not good enough to be picked’ limelight and promptly, and not unexpectedly, pulled out of the tour and will have to be replaced with the guy who wasn’t as good as the guy who wasn’t as good to be picked (Zondeki in this case). It is also worth sparing a thought for Graeme Smith who has the unenviable task of deciding when the bowlers who are not really good enough to be picked get to bowl...