Lizelle Lee's sudden retirement hints at discord in South African set-up

Lizelle Lee’s unexpected international retirement and the unspoken reasons behind it have brought attention to the team’s cohesiveness as the South African camp does not look in good shape in the ongoing Women ODI series against England. Lee played the one-off Test in Taunton to mark the start of the England tour, and announced her retirement on July 8, just three days before the start of the ODI series.

It seemed like Lee had not hinted at her retirement as she traveled with the team after being named in the squads across all three formats. She also successfully completed the rain-affected Test match, which ended in a draw. The choice by Lee to call it quits during the England tour at the age of just 30 raised many questions regarding Lee’s decision, even though it was shocking to the entire team and every cricket fan in the world.

While making the announcement, Lee mentioned that she had ‘mixed emotions’ while taking the decision and also revealed that she will continue to play domestic T20 cricket. Even in Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) official release, she had not quoted the reason behind her sudden decision. As Lee dropped the bomb, news surfaced all around about CSA being sceptical of Lee’s participation in England’s franchise-based unique cricket tournament- The Hundred.

At a press conference on Sunday in Leicester, South Africa’s head coach Hilton Moreeng was questioned about rumours that Lee had decided to retire from professional sports because the CSA had been unwilling to offer her a no-objection certificate so she could compete in The Hundred in August and September.

Moreeng was silent other than to state that he was “not aware” of the CSA’s resistance to granting Lee the necessary clearance. Lee responded to this on Twitter: “He was definitely aware. I told him in person and it was said in a meeting with CSA (he was not in that meeting)”

Questions raised over CSA’s decision making

According to a report by Cricbuzz, Lee was offered the chance to amend and add to the release stating her retirement during the meeting but she chose not to do so. The CSA has categorically disputed that her no-objection certificate was a problem, claiming that it was not brought up during the discussion with Lee and noting that the organization has let players represent franchises even when it isn’t in the best interest of the country.

When Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Marco Jansen had the option of participating in this year’s IPL, they chose to do so, effectively preventing them from participating in a Test series against Bangladesh. The Hundred also doesn’t overlap with South Africa’s international fixtures.