Toyana tipped for Proteas coach post
• Lions man likely candidate as Domingo’s contract set to end
It is increasingly likely that SA’s cricket team will have a new coach after their tour of England‚ when Russell Domingo’s contract runs out. Almost as apparent is that his replacement will be Geoffrey Toyana‚ coach of the Lions.
It is increasingly likely SA will have a new coach after their tour of England‚ when Russell Domingo’s contract runs out.
Almost as apparent is that Domingo’s replacement will be Geoffrey Toyana‚ who is in charge of the Lions.
Toyana is understood to have applied for the job‚ as well as former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus and Rob Walter who have first-hand experience of the South African system from stints with the Titans.
Malibongwe Maketa‚ who has been the Warriors’ head coach in an acting and later a permanent capacity since December 2014‚ SA A coach Shukri Conrad and former Ireland and West Indies boss Phil Simmons are also reportedly in the mix.
However‚ Toyana has long been Domingo’s heir apparent.
He has won four trophies in five seasons at the Wanderers and has produced eight internationals‚ which will stand him in good stead as Cricket SA look to transform the game.
A committee consisting of former coaches Gary Kirsten and Eric Simons and three Cricket SA board members has been tasked with recommending a candidate to the board.
It seems all that can prevent Toyana from being that candidate is his lack of international experience‚ as a player and a coach‚ to bolster the 84 firstclass caps he won as a batsman‚ most of them for Easterns‚ the Titans and Gauteng.
But Cricket SA took a leap of faith in Domingo — who did not reach first-class level as a player — in 2013 and he has repaid that faith by guiding his team to victory in 94 of 168 matches.
That is a success rate of 55.95%. Kirsten‚ one of the most respected coaches in the game‚ won 55.74% of his matches as SA’s coach.
On Thursday, a Cricket SA spokesperson would not say whether Domingo had tried to keep his job, but confirmed that interviews had been held and the committee would make its recommendation to the board on July 21.
“An announcement on the coaching position will be made after the Test series against England‚” the spokesperson said.
Which could mean that nothing will change.
However‚ during SA’s tour to New Zealand in March, members of the Proteas management team said that “we’ll be gone after England”.
That might mean a wholesale cleanout is on the cards‚ from Domingo to his assistant‚ Adrian Birrell‚ batting consultant Neil McKenzie‚ bowling coach Charl Langeveldt and even long-term support staff such as Mohammed Moosajee‚ who was appointed team manager in April 2008.
Domingo was due to return to England on Thursday, having gone home last week to be with his mother after she had been injured in an accident.
It is understood he could slip into a lower-profile role within Cricket SA after the England tour‚ possibly as SA A coach.