Rumblings in Cobras camp

THE Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) have called a board meeting on Thursday to discuss the grievance some of the Cobras’ players have lodged against coach Paul Adams.

On Wednesday‚ Club Cricket SA’s website quoted the SA Cricketers’ Association’s head of player services and advocacy‚ Andrew Breetzke‚ as saying the “majority of contracted Cobras players” had complained to the franchise about Adams.

A board meeting had been called to discuss the issue, WPCA president Beresford Williams said.

Justin Ontong‚ the Cobras one-day and T20 captain last season‚ said he was in the dark about the nature of the complaints.

“It boggles my mind — we’re trying to find that out‚” said Ontong‚ who is not among the disgruntled players. “My understanding is that some other players have drawn up a petition against [Adams] detailing their unhappiness.”

The 2015-16 season marked the first time in eight summers that the Cobras have not won at least one trophy.

They reached the final of the one-day competition and finished third in the T20s but won only three of their 10 first-class matches.

But that did not help Ontong make sense of the aggrieved players’ course of action.

“As a captain I’m disappointed‚” he said. “None of the players came to me saying they were unhappy with the coach. We had a bad season but it’s also about players taking responsibility for their own performances — we all didn’t perform very well.

“You can’t just pass the buck and say the coach was to blame.” TMG Digital