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Cape Town - Proteas captain Faf du Plessis says that having a demographically representative Proteas side remains the priority when it comes to team selection.
That said, the Proteas are on course to miss their targets for the 2017/18 season.
According to a report on Cricinfo, the Proteas have just the two remaining Test matches against Australia before their annual April to April transformation target cycle ends.
Government has instructed that, during that period, the Proteas must field six players of colour - including two black Africans - on average, per game across all formats.
That equates to a minimum of a 54.54% player of colour representation and 18.18% black representation over the year.
According to the report, the Proteas will miss those targets regardless of what they do in the next two Tests.
They have met the minimum requirements in terms of black Africans (18.67%) but they are well short on the first target having had an average player of colour make-up of just 48.64% over the time frame.
Ironically, both selection decision for the third Test in Cape Town on Thursday are between a black and white player, but neither have anything to do with race.
Temba Bavuma is in line to replace Theunis de Bruyn having recovered from a hand injury, while Morne Morkel could replace Lungi Ngidi should the 21-year-old not recover from a toe injury.
Speaking on Wednesday, Du Plessis re-affirmed that transformation was still the priority.
"As a guy that has a say in selection, I always strive to get that (the targets)," he said.
"So, first priority will be to get those balances and targets right.
"If there were injuries that played a part then it’s difficult to make - for instance if Kagiso (Rabada) wasn’t available for this game then it’s a different story. But I also believe it’s my responsibility to look and see how we can achieve that.
"There’s always exceptions and there’s always horses for courses. But it’s important for me to have it in the back of my mind ... if we have the opportunity, to make our team representative in the best way possible."
