Nenzani is having his oranges while souring the gentleman’s game
In the late 1990s one of the late Bob Woolmer’s many innovations was the introduction of sports psychology to the national cricket team.
Back then, it was a concept rare to team sports only golfers and some tennis players could talk about it without eliciting raised eyebrows and some sniggering. But Bob was always ahead of his time.
The old pros were persuaded to give Bob’s idea “a chance”, and they duly did so. Half a day was booked for the first session. Things were going reasonably well for half an hour until the infamous line: “All your time is important, like when you’re having your halftime oranges.”
That was it, and Bob knew it. The players were lost. Gone was any credibility, not to be regained, no matter how much the psychologist wanted to.
It’s not clear how long it will take Cricket SA president Chris Nenzani to realise and then accept that he and his board members are in the same position. With every day he is in denial, the game is being materially harmed.
He blithely said on Saturday he and his board “had a mandate from the Members Council to continue but five of his board sit on the Members Council. Such a conflict of interest is laughable, though not funny at all.
Standard Bank’s withdrawal on its own from the game should have been more than enough for Nenzani to step down. If Momentum does the same, will that be enough? The suspension of CEO Thabang Moroe on such serious allegations, who was appointed by Nenzani and the board after “full and rigorous process”, (Nenzani’s words) should have been enough.
Then there is his cynical misuse of Graeme Smith’s name in connection with the role of director of cricket. It is deeply unfair on the former captain, the national team and all supporters of the game.
Smith will not turn away from Faf du Plessis and the national squad when one is selected but he will not contemplate signing a longterm contract with the current administration in place.
Nenzani is either too thickskinned to see the irony, or perhaps he is in denial. As much as he talks about bringing Smith in as the “preferred candidate”, it is his own presence that is preventing it. How could you trust a man prepared to heap so much emotional blackmail on you in public?
Nenzani has placed Smith in a position where ordinary fans, especially young ones, may perceive him to be the villain for not taking the post when, in fact, he has every right and many good reasons for not doing so.
There is also the prospect, however unlikely it may seem at the moment, that Moroe might return to office after his lucrative suspension.
That is another very good reason for Smith not to sign a long-term contract.
If that isn’t enough, let’s try the issue of the R2.4m to the SA Cricketers’ Association (Saca) for player-image rights during the first edition of the Mzansi Super League in 2018.
It was nine months overdue when Moroe finally signed off on it. Nenzani said on Saturday Moroe had “effected payment within hours after becoming aware of the problem”.
A little later in his media briefing this changed to “at least within a day”.
Actually, the non-payment had been an active issue within the senior ranks of Cricket SA administrators for more than six months. Acting director of cricket Corrie van Zyl had made Moroe aware of the issue on numerous occasions and received no response. Moroe was giving the players the metaphorical middle finger.
Saca has documents confirming Moroe’s knowledge of the non-payment at least 10 days before they lodged a legal dispute and are also aware of the efforts of Van Zyl to facilitate the payment for eight months after it was due.
Either Nenzani lied during his media conference or he repeated a lie given to him by Moroe. Either way, he is no longer fit to serve as president of Cricket SA.
Three independent directors, all on the boards of listed companies, penned resignation letters making it clear that the Cricket SA board’s duty of oversight and other fiduciary duties were not adequately discharged, leading to serious reputational damage. That should have been enough.
Nenzani also said he and his board had been given a mandate to “engage with Saca and repair the relationship”.
They needed a mandate to do that?
On Monday Saca issued another media release. The first paragraph reads: “Forecasts of huge and unprecedented financial deficits, ignored concerns relating to these, systematic breaches of agreements, high-profile court cases and legal disputes, reports of uncontrolled spending by staff, admissions of the need for a forensic audit, suspension upon suspension of Cricket SA employees, failure to put in place Proteas team structures, attempts to silence the media, resignations of independent directors citing financial and governance concerns and withdrawal of the game s biggest sponsor these’have unfolded over a period of time on the board’s watch, mostly with its knowledge and some even with its support.”
Saca has a point, doesn’t it? No wonder it is calling for the board to be removed.