CSA hopes for end to ban on hosting tournaments

CRICKET SA (CSA) are optimistic that their prohibition on hosting major international events will be lifted when the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) releases its transformation report today.

Even so, South Africans should not expect to see a tournament in their backyard for at least the next six years.

Then sports minister Fikile Mbalula slapped the CSA with the ban in April last year when the EPG found they had fallen 5% short of the 60% target for black players in national teams‚ which had been agreed to by sport and government suits.

In September, the CSA specified a 54% average minimum target of black players in South Africa’s teams for the season‚ 18% of them black African.

That translates into six black players in an XI‚ two of them black African.

Since last year’s transformation report was released, 319 places have been available to players in teams for South Africa’s matches.

Of those 176 – or 55.17% – have gone to black players. Sixty-one of them – 19.12% – have been black African.

All good. But 55.17% is not the minister’s required 60%.

What makes the CSA think they will be in the EPG’s good books this time?

“We have engaged constructively with the EPG secretariat and the department to correct data errors and to develop a tailored scorecard for cricket‚” CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said yesterday.

“We always believed that a one-size-fits-all scorecard does not work for cricket and we are pleased to have agreed a cricket-specific scorecard.”

That would seem a diplomatic way of saying the EPG’s auditing was faulty.

Not that the CSA were about to get into that kind of argument with an organisation that could make life difficult for them.

“We are optimistic of good outcomes but we would not want to pre-empt anything at this stage‚” Lorgat said.

“Regardless‚ we are committed to transformation and we will continue to engage with the ministry.”

The CSA should have a solid relationship with the EPG, considering that the sports ministry’s website lists the EPG’s secretary as Willie Basson‚ who has served as the CSA’s acting president and chaired their transformation committee.

But that did not stop last year’s prohibition‚ which would have stung a game that has maintained a stronger transformation ethic than other codes.

Transformation seems have been good for South Africa’s bottom line.

Of the 29 matches played across all formats since September‚ when the CSA announced their targets‚ they won 22 and lost only five.

That made South Africa international cricket’s most successful side between September and March. No team won more in that period and none lost less.

But the International Cricket Council (ICC) does not reward sterling performances on the field with the awarding of tournament hosting rights.

Asked whether there were any events on the horizon that the CSA were planning to try to stage‚ Lorgat said no.