Cape Town : Cricket South Africa will formally investigate allegations of discrimination and racism against former captain Graeme Smith, its director of cricket, and Mark Boucher, head coach of the national team.
The pair, who will both continue in their roles during the investigation, were among a number of CSA employees implicated in tentative findings made by the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) ombudsman last week.
The SJN had been looking into alleged discrimination and racism within the national team and the CSA since the re-admission of post-apartheid South Africa to international cricket in 1991.
In a series of hearings between July and October this year, a number of black players testified that they had been victims of racism and discrimination while part of the national team. Boucher has admitted playing a part in joining his team-mates in singing songs and using nicknames that caused offence, and has since apologised.
The ombudsman report, submitted to CSA earlier this month, also criticised Smith and another former skipper, AB de Villiers, for selection decisions made during their captaincies, which it said were prejudicial towards black players.