Patrick Moroney, a seasoned cricket administrator with over two decades of experience in talent identification and team selection, has been appointed as South Africa’s new convenor of selectors for the men’s national side.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed that Moroney will officially assume the role on August 1, ahead of the Proteas' white-ball tour to Australia that begins on August 10.
Moroney's Experience
Moroney brings with him a wealth of experience in the domestic and developmental structures, having worked with the South African National Academy and various age-group and emerging teams since 2001.
He was part of the previous national selection panel under Victor Mpitsang and most recently served as the convenor for the Under-19 men’s team, where his picks included standout performers like Kwena Maphaka and Lhuan-dre Pretorius at last year’s U19 World Cup.
CSA’s Director of National Teams and High Performance, Enoch Nkwe, hailed the appointment, saying: “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.”
Shukri Conrad To Work For First Time With Moroney
This marks the first time that current head coach Shukri Conrad will work alongside a convenor of selectors since his appointment in January 2023. At the time of Conrad’s hiring, Nkwe had disbanded the national selection panel, giving coaches full control over team selections.
That model, which left selection duties solely in the hands of the national coaches and captains, drew both interest and criticism.
But with Conrad recently taking on the all-format coaching role and white-ball head coach Rob Walter facing scrutiny—particularly over the lack of black African representation in last year’s T20 World Cup squad—the CSA board pushed for the reinstatement of a selection figure, albeit not a full panel.
“We needed to review, and look at areas in terms of where we can actually support the coach,” Nkwe explained. “We need to have more eyes on the ground as the coach is going to be focusing on performance.”
Conrad, for his part, welcomed the move. “I’m happy to work with someone, and hope that person would be a like-minded person, and that has got South African cricket and the Proteas at heart,” he said earlier this year.
Moroney and Mpitsang previously collaborated on the selection panel from late 2019 to early 2023—a period that included some high-profile and debated decisions.
While the panel was criticized for altering a winning XI during the 2022 England Test series—selecting a spinner on a seaming Old Trafford pitch—it also unearthed future stars like Marco Jansen, who has since become a regular in all formats.
