STICKY WICKET
SMITH: TEAMS OUTSIDE BIG THREE NEED DECENT FIXTURES
The uncertain global stage will see CSA embarking on a new drive to uplift the domestic game.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) are set to announce their winter tours very shortly, with director of cricket Graeme Smith saying yesterday morning that he was hoping for a “very busy” year of international action.
For starters, there was however, confirmation yesterday by CSA of a historic full white-ball tour by the Proteas to Ireland in July.
But Smith called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to show more leadership to ensure teams outside of the Big Three continue to have decent fixtures lined up.
While Australia pulling out of the Test tour scheduled for next month clearly still hurts CSA, Pakistan will help fill the void by coming over for a white-ball series in April, and CSA are expected to announce tours to the West Indies and Sri Lanka over our winter, as well as a series in India before the T20 World Cup in October/November.
“Our relationship with Cricket Australia is definitely now strained and the ICC needs strong leadership because Covid is just amplifying the ‘haves and the have-nots’. The FTP [Future Tours Programme] is going to be hugely challenging with eight ICC events in the next eight years, an extended IPL and the calendar being dominated by England, Australia and India [the Big Three],” said Smith.
“That just amplifies the stress on us and the other countries looking for good content, It’s a bit of a bun fight because every nation is trying to fill gaps,” he added.
“So I think the men’s team is going to be very busy. But the game as a whole needs leadership right now because I don’t think we want to see only three teams competing at the top in 10 years time.
“Their leagues are just getting bigger and bigger and the rest will be left with no content,” Smith pointed out.
Because of the uncertain global stage, Smith also yesterday announced a new drive by CSA to uplift the domestic game.
The T20 Challenge will start on Friday and is being played in a bio-bubble in Durban, with all the Proteas being obliged to play.
The conclusion of the four-day competition will then happen in March and Smith is hopeful the national team players will also feature in that.
“Because Australia are no longer coming in March, we’ve decided it is important to invest in our domestic competitions and we are making all the national players available.
“South African cricket needs to come first and it is open season now in terms of national contracts. Everyone in the Proteas has been really positive and they want to play,” Smith said.
Smith also mentioned that that the mental well-being of players will also need to be carefully managed though, especially as some of the Proteas were already showing signs of bubble fatigue in Pakistan.