Thanks to CSA, our cricket is in big trouble

It’s easy to demonise the Proteas and their management in the wake of their disastrous tour of India, but with Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Enoch Nkwe and Corrie van Zyl fronting the media for well over an hour at the airport yesterday morning, one had to feel some sympathy for their plight.

Conspicuous by their absence, however, were any of Cricket South Africa’s senior executives (Van Zyl apart) or any of the board members. As usual they hid in the shadows, ever quick to step forward when things are going well, but nowhere to be found when there’s a storm brewing.

The time has come, as CSA and the Proteas lurch from being a top-class operation respected worldwide to a deeply troubled organisation that has a host of financial, legal and governance problems, to focus the light firmly on the board. They are the ones who are allowing the CSA senior executive to get away with such incompetence and, in the worstcase scenario, outright malfeasance. As the courts made clear during the Gerald Majola bonus scandal, directors of a company have a legal obligation to act in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. It’s called their fiduciary duty and there are legal ramifications if they do not do so.

So, to all the recalcitrant members of the CSA board, is it really a company that is running smoothly given the following list of major examples of poor judgment?

Two of CSA’s most important stakeholders, the South African Cricketers Association (the players’ union) and the Western Province Cricket Association, are waiting for their day in court as they look to overturn decisions they believe infringe on their rights as stated in their memorandums of understanding with CSA.

The WPCA are fighting CSA’s sudden decision to put them under administration, while SACA actually have a second matter headed for court as they revealed this week that CSA have not yet paid the players what is due to

Ken Borland

them in terms of their image rights from last season’s Mzansi Super League. Their initial dispute is over CSA’s unilateral and poorly justified decision to change the domestic structure of the game.

CSA’s typical response is borrowed from the State Capture playbook: delay, delay, delay. Which is why there is still absolutely no clarity on the proposed changes to the domestic game.

CSA shows an absolute disregard for their most important asset – the players. Little wonder then that so much talent leaves this country because it is ripe for the plucking by agents who can swap a Kolpak deal for a hefty commission.

While the non-payment of the

MSL image rights involves a relatively small amount of between R2-3 million and really shouldn’t be bothering CSA too much, it is a massive issue for the players. One franchise cricketer, who was picked up in the latter stages of last year’s MSL draft, told me he is owed R30 000.

“In all honesty I need those bonuses and payments because we don’t get paid a salary as much as you would think and most us have responsibilities. I have a son, wife, mortgage; how do we all suddenly sort out our financial situation? And the worst of it all is, we still don’t actually know exactly what is going to happen next year. That is how poorly our cricket is run, but I guarantee you none of them will be hurt financially, but us players will take a big hit,” the player told me.

CSA’s proposal to increase the number of teams at the top level of domestic cricket will lead to the players and coaches taking a pay-cut of anything between 30-50%. Little wonder that they are increasingly showing their displeasure by looking to distant shores.

That money is probably going to go towards keeping the MSL afloat. It’s a tournament for which CSA receives nothing in terms of broadcast rights, instead pursuing political interests by making a huge charitable donation to the SABC. Do the board not know that CSA had an offer of $6 million from SuperSport?

That would go a long way now, but instead the big egos dictate that the MSL will go ahead without a title sponsor or broadcast rights being paid. That was the “crime” for which former CEO Haroon Lorgat was sacked. The irony is that a major international airline and two massive Indian companies, already involved in the IPL, were interested in being MSL title sponsors.

I hear that in the hallways of the International Cricket Council, our cricket is being referred to as being on the same path as Zimbabwe cricket.

Is this something the directors of CSA are willing to accept?