The new targets are aimed at increasing the number of black players in a sport which is still dominated by white people.

A minimum of six black cricketers must be included in South Africa's national team under new racial quotas.

The "targets", as they are officially called, are for all three formats of the game - Tests, one-day internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 internationals - over the season.

http://news.sky.com/story/south-africa-racial-quotas-for-cricket-team-10564144

Instead of limiting and restricting, maybe you should fund youth programs that will naturally create talented black players.

I've heard some people refer to this behavior as "positive racism"... which is about as dumb as calling something "positive genocide"

Imagine if something similar happened for white people on USA basketball team for example...
Oh boy, that would set the world on fire.

Absolutely disgusting really. There's absolutely no reason to try and force racist player quotas in to sports. Ok, maybe a country with a black majority would like to see more black people in the team, but why aren't they there? Is it because black people don't like the sport? IIRC the South African football team is mostly black, so it's certainly a possibility that they just don't like sports such as cricket and rugby and would rather play football instead. Or perhaps it's because there isn't the necessary infrastructure to properly develop good players in predominantly black areas? Well then why not invest more money in to those areas rather than trying to bring in artificial advantages/disadvantages based purely on someones skin colour?

Just imagine if a country with a white majority like the US introduced new rules mandating that teams have to have a white majority.

In european football there was talks about something like this (although it was based on nationality rather than race so wasn't anywhere near as discriminatory) but that was quickly shut down and deemed illegal.

Discriminating against minorities is 'positive'?

Nah, I'm sure they only say that because it's a white minority...

Nobody with an IQ above 100 calls it that, at least not since the 1980s.

It's kinda funny, that Affirmative action is meant to help racial and ethnic minorities rise in the ranks of society. But in South Africa white people are the minority. Well actually Asians (including Indians) are a smaller minority. But still white people are a minority group. They just happen to dominate certain higer socioeconomic elements of society due to its very recent racist oppressive past.

I think a policy of getting more Africans into rugby and cricket is good. Instituting a strict quota perhaps is too much of the sharp end of affirmative action. More funding and promotion at the grass roots might be a better way to achieve a long term vision

Whats next quotas for prisons?

I wouldn't say it's that. The West Indies has some of the most passionate players/fans in the sport.

My guess is that it stems back to South Africa's apartheid roots, and while the policy might be gone, there is still a sense of the white community having a "head start" over the majority of black dwellings.

I think the main issue is opportunity, which should be the main focus. Excellent talent can be found even in the poorest of communities, the question is, if the opportunity never arises, does this talent ever go anywhere? Quotas are merely a way of forcing the outcome without having to put the effort in to solve the cause.

Lol Cricket is the most popular sport in India so its not simply about Colonial past lol

Affirmative action does not work, look at the US, is a place of racial zen...no lol