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Cape Town - Proteas coach Russell Domingo has refrained from commenting after adventurer Mike Horn confirmed there was political interference in the South African camp before their Cricket World Cup semi-final against New Zealand last month.
Recent media reports indicated that Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat told Domingo via SMS to pick an extra player of colour in the team before the semi-final in Auckland.
Lorgat apparently told Domingo to choose between dropping Rilee Rossouw and picking Farhaan Behardien, or dropping Kyle Abbott for Vernon Philander.
Abbott was eventually dropped, with Philander, who passed a fitness test on the morning of the match, taking his place, as New Zealand went on to beat South Africa by 4 wickets in a thrilling clash.
CSA and Lorgat strongly denied the reports.
But Horn, who helped the Proteas at the recent World Cup, has since confirmed that there was indeed political interference.
Horn confirmed that the initial plan was for the same team that crushed Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals to play against the Kiwis in the semi-finals.
Horn said the players were clearly unhappy about what transpired and that he was tasked with re-motivating them for the semi-finals.
When asked to comment on the matter on Thursday, Domingo told Netwerk24: “Are you guys not going to leave that story to rest?
“My sole focus is on the future and to choose a team for the tour to Bangladesh (in July). I have no comment on the matter.”
