Cricket legend hails hiring of Maketa
Transformation on track, says Procter
South Africa’s first post-isolation coach and legendary allrounder Mike Procter said Malibongwe Maketa’s appointment as assistant coach to Ottis Gibson is a strong sign of Cricket SA’s commitment to transformation.
While the former West Indian all-rounder that is Gibson replaced Russell Domingo‚ who was South African cricket’s first national team coach of colour‚ Maketa replaced fellow Eastern Caper Adrian Birrell.
“I may not have worked with Maketa but going by his reputation‚ he’s done a good job and his reputation has carried far and wide and he seems to be a sensible guy‚” Procter said.
“Transformation is a good thing and if we have more players of colour in the national team‚ that would be a fantastic thing to see.
“But it has to be there on merit. However‚ he seems to be there on merit and he has a little bit of magic about him.
“Those three guys that Ottis Gibson has named as his assistants are fantastic individuals and they’ve all performed well.”
Procter‚ who has recently released an autobiography called Caught in the Middle, co-authored with Lungani Zama‚ said Gibson was a good choice as national team coach.
He admits the decision took him by surprise because “if you’re not a born and bred SA‚ it’s difficult to understand the different situations that South African cricket is prone to”. –