CSA has refuted former Proteas Women batter Lizelle Lee’s claim that she was dropped because of her weight, which she misrepresented anyway.
Lee announced her shock retirement from international cricket in the middle of South Africa’s recent tour of England.
In her joint statement with CSA, Lee said she had “given everything I could to the Proteas” and “I feel that I am ready for the next phase in my career and will continue to play domestic T20 cricket around the world.”
However, last week, the 30-year-old said during a BBC podcast that she had retired after CSA had threatened to not give her a No Objection Certificate (NOC), which would prevent her from playing in overseas leagues.
“It was because of the way I look and how much I weigh … If you break it down, I made the fitness but I didn’t make my weight, so they’re dropping me because of my weight,” Lee said. “As a woman, that breaks me. It’s probably one of the toughest things to hear, saying you’re not able to play for a team because you weigh too much.”
But CSA insiders told The Citizen that Lee had misrepresented her weight before the England tour and that her all-round fitness, and not just her weight, resulted in her being dropped.
“She was not honest with us, her fitness tests were fraudulently done,” said the CSA insider. “She is now trying to embarrass us and has gone rogue.”
Lee admitted she falsified her weight as she was “afraid that it might result in me not being selected. I know now that that was wrong”.
According to CSA policy, a player’s fitness is measured via four tests, with a player needing to get at least 6/10 to be declared fit for play.
If a player gets four or five, they are put on probation and retesting will be done. A player who gets a score of three or under will be declared not fit to play.
The weight part of the test is only worth two points, the same as the strength test, while skinfold measurement and the 2km endurance test are worth three points each.
As The Citizen pointed out, even if Lee was 5% over her target weight and received zero points in that section, she must have still only earned 3/8 for the other tests.
