EP Cricket builds solid foundation
New boss guiding team off sticky wicket
WHEN Jesse Chellan took on the role of chief executive of Eastern Province Cricket, he knew there would be massive challenges ahead.
Now, 90 days into the job, both he and EP Cricket Board president Donovan May are confident that the provincial body is moving in the right direction.
There are some serious hurdles which need to cleared up, such as securing sponsorships for both their teams and St George’s Park. Both Chevrolet and Axxess opted not to renew their sponsorship deals with the Warriors and St George’s respectively. A security company was in line to sponsor the oldest cricket test venue in South Africa but withdrew at the last minute.
“From an organisation point of view, we were in distress. From a financial perspective, the challenges are significant.
“Given the restructuring, there was a lot of uncertainty, mistrust and a lack of communication. That defined the organisation when I arrived,” said Chellan, who will be officially Warriors chief executive as of May 1.
“I have engaged with the staff and the players to understand where they stand and to understand a little bit about them from a personal perspective.
“So as we work together I will be able to support them and press the right buttons to get maximum output out of the team.
Chellan says he has also addressed urgent operational matters, the majority of these financial. “Effectively, our finance department has been without a head for about 10 months and the level of financial competency is very low so that has compounded some of our problems.”
Chellan called on outside assis- tance and some of the company’s financials are now up to date, he says.
“The most important thing now is to develop this exit strategy from our troubles and make sure that we restore Warriors and EP Cricket to their rightful place.
“To do this there are five key areas to look at. These must still be approved by the board but I don’t think there will be too much dispute.
“The elements are around winning teams throughout our structures; high-performance systems; retaining talent to grow the game; to improve St George’s Park, and, most importantly, ensuring financial stability.
“It’s going to require a collaborative effort and I’m committed to making this work.”
May said the board had been massively impressed with Chellan’s progress to date after “a lot of negativity”, but now there was “a tremendous amount of progress”.
“Jesse has been here for three months and he has done a great job. He has taken a lot of pressure from the board itself and there has been success.
“We restructured the company. We hosted a successful ODI and test, even though it rained. We appointed a chief executive and we have maintained St George’s Park. Club cricket has also been played so there has been a lot of good.”