Cricket SA faces lawsuit as it pulls together new league
Three of the franchise owners in the failed T20 Global League have confirmed they intend to sue Cricket SA for breach of contract and damages. On Monday they started the process of filing an interdict to prevent the start of the new league, which Cricket SA said would start on November 9.
“Our lawyers are working on it as we speak,” said Pretoria Mavericks owner Hiren Bhanu on Monday. “They believe they are capable of running a replacement league but they are not motivated by the right reasons,” he said.
Nelson Mandela Stars owner Ajay Sethi also confirmed he would be joining legal action initiated by the Mavericks, while a Durban Qalandars spokesperson said the franchise was on the verge of presenting its own case. “We are awaiting our advocate’s second opinion but we expect to take action on the issues of ‘rights retention’ and then damages or compensation,” the spokesperson said.
While the majority of South Africans remain confused and bewildered by the lack of detail offered by Cricket SA — teams, venues, fixtures, sponsors and, above all, a broadcaster are all missing — Bhanu is furious rather than curious.
“Have a close look at the [Cricket SA] balance sheet. It only balances because of the dollar exchange rate and the millions they received as compensation for the cancellation of the Champions League,” he said.
“I believe this wrongdoing needs to be exposed, SA needs investment after [Jacob] Zuma screwed up confidence and the owners in the Global League were committed to bringing and investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the country.”
Meanwhile, Cricket SA’s deteriorating relationship with SuperSport has resulted in the SABC being engaged in conversations about being the broadcaster. A spokesperson confirmed on Monday that, following Treasury’s decision to allow the state broadcaster to seek loans from capital markets, they had a “50-50 chance” of televising the games.
The presence of the minister of sport and her deputy at Cricket SA’s annual general meeting on Saturday has heightened speculation that Cricket SA may have sought, and obtained, government backing for the new league, if not in the form of direct cash then perhaps a commitment to “lean” on big business to prop up the new venture.
Several of the big-name players who were contracted for the Global League have ruled themselves out of its replacement having already signed to play in the eight-team T10 League in the UAE from November 23 to December 2.
Apart from the lack of confidence in Cricket SA caused by the collapse of the Global League, it is indicative of Cricket SA’s struggle to be financially competitive that marquee international players can earn more in Dubai for half the work.
SA’s own biggest names will be on tour in Australia for the first 10 days of the new competition with a T20 International scheduled for the Commonwealth Games Stadium at the Gold Coast on November 17. But in any case, the league was announced without any consultation, never mind discussion, with the country’s players.
“One of the challenges we have faced as a result of what happened last year has been to maintain local player enthusiasm for a new league and encourage overseas player availability for it,” said Tony Irish, CEO of the SA Players Association (Saca). “This has been made very difficult because of a lack of information and clarity on whether the league is actually happening and whether or not the fundamentals are in place.”
“Saca has not been involved in any of the Cricket SA discussions or decisions to date, and I think we should have been to ensure this player confidence. Going forward, we will now be dealing with the draft arrangements and player contracts, but we are still not clear on some of the fundamentals, including whether there is a signed broadcast deal.”
No doubt there are, and will be, many negotiations taking place over the next 59 days to get it up and running, and confidentiality will be important to all of them, but it is hard to understand what good could come of making the announcement of its birth without any other information.
If the new league does take place and can claim any success at its conclusion, it will represent one of the greatest and most unlikely logistical and marketing achievements in sports history, any sport.