HOPEFULLY CRICKET IS NOW THE FOCUS
CSA sanity finally prevails – just in time to welcome England
SO CAN we all just get on with the game now? That shouldn’t be too much to ask. However, it has been for Cricket South Africa’s administrators – supposedly the custodians of the sport.
We are closing in on one year since Thabang Moroe was suspended – a decision that set off a storm in which plenty of dirty washing has been hung. It was Cricket
SA’s administrators – whether the executive, the Members’ Council or the previous Board of Directors – who kept trying to dodge taking responsibility for the mess the organisation was in.
They spun a legal web in trying to avoid accountability – from the Labour Court to the CCMA, to delving into the Companies Act seeking protection on a technicality, to justifying how their Memorandum of Incorporation didn’t allow for an interim board, to telling the Minister of Sport (as previous CSA acting president Beresford Williams did) that he didn’t understand the
National Sport and Recreation Act.
Of run rates, outswingers, offbreaks, googlies and bouncers, there was very little to be heard.
Amidst all this administrative mayhem in 2020 there was the need to get back to playing once the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted. The operational team continued its work under difficult circumstances, desperately trying to avoid distraction while attempting to put plans in place for the national men’s and women’s teams.
Training camps for the women’s team need to be finalised with approval from the executive, which hasn’t happened. Staff at CSA involved in ensuring the games take place, that players, officials and equipment is in the right place at the right time, keep worrying about what will happen next.
The players were left frowning after a meeting with acting chief executive Kugandrie Govender in which she pointed out that the reason there was so much criticism of the organisation from the media is that some journalists were upset about not getting ‘freebies’ or being overlooked for jobs.
Staff are angry. Players are angry. The public has stopped believing anything that comes out of any CSA’s administrators’ mouths, leading to a collective sigh of relief when Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa stepped in and finally put an end to the stupidity – although CSA tried very hard again last week to drag one last pale from that well of foolishness by suggesting they wouldn’t work with the interim board.
Sanity prevailed on Monday night. In amongst the many clowns on the Members’ Council, there was some sense and Central Gauteng Lions president Anne Vilas, elected to that position in May, will emerge a hero of sorts from all this as she led the plea for her fellow provincial presidents to stop trying to fight with the government.
The England men’s team arrived yesterday and will start preparations in unique circumstances for six limited overs matches against the Proteas. It will be good to see cricket being played again and not boardroom shenanigans.