South Africa coach Micky Arthur is leaving no stone unturned in his ambitious bid to humble the world champions and has now turned to India coach Gary Kirsten to learn what it takes to tame Australia. Arthur’s meticulous plan for the away series included roping in former England coach Duncan Fletcher in a consultancy role before seeking Kirsten’s help.

Under Fletcher, England beat the Aussies to win the 2005 Ashes, while Kirsten guided India to a thumping 2-0 win over Ricky Ponting’s men recently. “I have had a chat with Gary... and he reinforced that our ideas were right,” Arthur told Sydney Morning Herald. “And Fletch, after just his first six days with us, has already convinced me that we made a very good decision in bringing him into the group. We have been looking to speak to anyone who has enjoyed success over the Australians, and Fletch has provided us with some very interesting ideas,” he said.

Incidentally, Arthur almost roped in John Buchanan in an advisory role before the former Australia coach joined Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. “...it struck me as a good idea. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be with John, but it led us to Fletch, and we couldn’t be happier with that. He’s one of the few guys around to havebeaten Australia in a Test series, and his knowledge and insights will prove extremely useful over the next few weeks,” Arthur said.

CSA plan to end quota selection

Cricket South Africa is planning to do away with its much-criticised selection policy of having a quota for coloured players in the next three years. The controversial policy which allegedly drove away players like Kevin Pietersen will be discarded for a merit-based system. “The goal is to get merit-based selection at all levels of cricket,” CSA chief executive Gerald Majola was quoted as saying The Age. “We have decided to continue with the target transformation policy for the next three years, with a review at the end of each year. At the end of the three years we hope we can then move to merit-based selection,” he said.