Bacher hits out at CEO as second independent CSA director resigns
The crisis in SA cricket deepened on Thursday as former CEO Ali Bacher called on incumbent Thabang Moroe to quit, while a second independent director resigned from the board of Cricket SA.
The Willowton Group‚ manufacturers of Sunfoil cooking oil and former Test match sponsors‚ also called for the removal of Moroe and that of Cricket SA president Chris Nenzani.
Bacher, a former Test captain, said Moroe was out of his depth, while independent board member Iqbal Khan, chair of Cricket SA’s finance committee, said he could no longer be party to an organisation “ruining the game”.
Khan blamed Moroe for most of the issues besetting Cricket SA, including failing to adhere to an agreement with the SA Cricketers’ Association, the banning of five journalists and “widespread credit-card abuse”.
In his letter to Nenzani, Khan wrote: “Unfortunately, all fingers point at the CEO. But, having said that, I cannot believe that you are not aware of the many issues that have caused this malaise, and to that extent you are also complicit and perhaps even the entire board.”
Khan’s resignation came a day after Shirley Zinn’s, leaving Cricket SA with only three of its five independent directors.
CSA will be holding an emergency board meeting in Johannesburg on Saturday at which it said “important decisions will be made”.
Bacher told espncricinfo website he had mediated talks between Moroe and former Test captain Graeme Smith on August 28, which could have led to Smith becoming Cricket SA director of cricket.
Smith announced on November 15 that he had withdrawn his interest in taking the job — though he confirmed on Monday that new talks were under way.
According to Bacher, in more than two months since the original discussions, Smith had still not been presented with a contract for his consideration.
The first talks took place before SA toured India in September and October, where the Proteas were heavily beaten in all three Tests.
Bacher alleged that current Test captain Faf du Plessis had not been consulted about the appointment of the inexperienced Enoch Nkwe as interim team director.
SELECTORS
Nkwe was in charge of the team that toured India and looks set to continue in the role in a home Test series against England, which starts on December 26.
Apart from the role of director of cricket being vacant, no selectors have yet been appointed ahead of the England tour.
“The current CEO is out of his depth and I strongly suggest that he resigns imminently in the best interests of SA cricket,” said Bacher.
In a separate interview with an Afrikaans-language website, Bacher said, “We’re currently the joke of world cricket.
“I don’t want us to end up like the West Indies, who were once a mighty cricket nation but have just disappeared over the last decade or two.”
Support for Moroe came from Jack Madiseng, a Cricket SA board member and Moroe’s successor as president of Gauteng cricket.
In an e-mail to Nenzani and Cricket SA deputy president Beresford Williams, Madiseng accused the pair of a lack of leadership. Madiseng said the board and not the CEO needed to be held accountable for “rubbishing the Cricket SA’s brand”.
The explosive e-mail accused Nenzani and Beresford of allowing Moroe to take all the "klaps and punches" from the media and the public over the last few days.
Madiseng said the two have sat back and demonstrated a lack of clear and concise leadership while Moroe was being burnt at the public stake.
“Our brand is in a mess and your lack/poor leadership has misled the public to think that we, as the board, have fully empowered the CEO [Moroe] to independently make all decisions, which is wrong,” wrote Madiseng in the e-mail, seen by TimesLIVE.
The letter was sent to Nenzani
and Williams, as well as Cricket SA's company secretary Welsh Gwaza. ‘‘Since I joined the board in February 2019, most decisions have been made by the board and implemented by the CEO," wrote Madiseng.
“Based on the above, the poor CEO has been getting all the 'klaps and punches' from the media and the public without the presence of the Cricket SA leadership, which is both of you.”
ACCREDITATIONS
Nenzani said he had received the e-mail but would not comment on its contents.
“I have received the e-mail and I'll be meeting Mr Madiseng when I get to Johannesburg,” Nenzani said.
Williams said he had not seen the e-mail because of business commitments.
“I haven't read the e-mail. I have been travelling between Cape Town and Johannesburg,” Williams said.
Moroe could not be reached for comment.
The association was summoned to a meeting by sponsors Standard Bank and grilled by the SA Cricketers' Association (Saca) and the SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef). The editors decided to intervene after four top cricket journalists had their accreditations withdrawn.
Saca will be meeting on Friday, when the players' union will discuss the possibility of a strike.