Former Proteas fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe has made a submission alleging that Graeme Smith threatened to quit the Proteas if Thami Tsolekile was selected during a tour of England in 2012.

According to TimesLive, Smith was implicated by former teammate Tsotsobe in a seven-page submission last month as Social Justice and Nation Building transformation ombudsman Dumisa Ntsebeza started receiving submissions.

It was recently confirmed that Cricket South Africa had postponed the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) public hearings, with the Transformation Ombud and interim board seeking ‘clarity regarding the process’.

The hearings were due to begin on Monday where a number of current and former black cricket players would provide testimonies on discrimination within the country’s cricketing structures.

It’s now been revealed that Tsotsobe alleges that Tsolekile was blocked from taking over the wicketkeeping duties after a freak injury to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.

Instead, De Villiers was given the gloves ahead of Tsolekile.

‘Tsolekile was destined to replace Boucher‚ but suddenly AB de Villiers was made the keeper,’ Tsotsobe alleges according to TimesLive.

‘Wicketkeeper is a specialist position that needed a specialist of which De Villiers is not. The idea of assigning keeping duties to De Villiers was to block the selection of a black player in the fold of Tsolekile.

‘This was confirmed by Smith who categorically stated that if Tsolekile was selected he would retire with immediate effect‚’ alleges Tsotsobe.

The TimesLive report further states that Smith had not yet responded to requests for his response to the allegations.

Tsotsobe is one of the players who were banned five years ago for alleged involvement in a match-fixing scandal‚ but the former left-arm paceman apparently wants this sanction declared ‘null and void’ due to procedural unfairness.