Johannesburg (South Africa), July 17 : Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced the appointment of Patrick Moroney as the new convenor selector for the men's senior national team. Moroney will formally assume his role from August 1, with his first assignment being the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia, commencing August 10, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Moroney brings with him over two decades of experience in cricket selection, dating back to 2001. Over the years, he has been associated with the South African National Academy, the emerging sides, and even featured in the selection panel alongside former convenor Victor Mpitsang. In 2019, Moroney was a strong contender for the top selectors' role, but eventually worked as part of Mpitsang's panel.
More recently, Moroney worked in the selection of the South Africa Under-19 men's team, which included the squad for last year's U-19 World Cup. His choices included promising young talents like Kwena Maphaka and Lhuan-dre Pretorius.
"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," Enoch Nkwe, director of national teams and High Performance, said in a statement announcing Moroney's appointment, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
This will also be the first time head coach Shukri Conrad will work alongside a selection convener since taking charge in January 2023.
Conrad made some unconventional decisions in Test cricket for South Africa, including the elevation of Wiaan Mulder to No. 3 in the batting order. Interestingly, Mulder now holds South Africa's highest individual score in Test cricket. Rob Walter, on the other hand, was handed the white-ball responsibilities, but his choices came under the scanner, especially for taking a squad with just one black African player to last year's T20 World Cup. South Africa, however, made it to the final.
It is understood that the Cricket South Africa (CSA) board later pushed for the return of a convenor of selectors, though not a full-fledged panel. Conrad was given the all-format coaching job in May, and Nkwe had then clarified that the aim of bringing back a selector was to provide added support to a coach who would already have a heavy workload.
"We needed to review and look at areas in terms of where we can actually support the coach," Nkwe said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"We need to have more eyes on the ground as the coach is going to be focusing on performance," he added.
At that time, Conrad had welcomed the idea of a convenor, saying he hoped the person would be like-minded and have the best interests of South African cricket and the Proteas at heart.
Previously, from 2019 to 2023, Moroney and Mpitsang were part of the selection panel during Mark Boucher's tenure as head coach. One of the most debated calls made by that panel was during the 2022 England tour, after winning the first Test at Lord's, they made a surprising change by picking a spinner for the second Test at Old Trafford, which was seam-friendly. This forced South Africa to bat first on a tough surface, and they went on to lose both the match and the series. However, the same panel also unearthed future stars, including Marco Jansen, who has now become a key player across all formats.
Moroney's return is expected to bring stability and a renewed focus to South Africa's talent pipeline as they gear up for a crucial international season.
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