PLATFORM FOR NEW ERA IN SA CRICKET IN PLACE

THERE were lots of smiles and slaps on the back last week as Cricket SA (CSA) unveiled its new Memorandum of Incorporation, which lays the platform for a new era of administration for the organisation.

It was a long time in coming – too long, in fact. But for all the smiles and back slaps, all that the MoI does is take CSA to the start line. This race is a long one, with many hurdles along the way, hopefully none put there by CSA itself, as has been the case far too often in the recent past.

The reformed administration will feature a new board of directors dominated by independent officials drawn from outside of cricket’s structures, including the legal fraternity, marketing and business, among others.

Cricket SA’s presidential body, the Members Council, will retain five seats on the 15-person board, with the two other positions going to the chief executive officer and chief financial officer. It puts CSA in line with modern business trends. It also puts CSA at loggerheads with the country’s Olympic body, Sascoc, to which CSA is affiliated.

For now, CSA has the protection of the government, through Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, who made it clear while appearing at the parliamentary portfolio committee for sports, art and culture last week that he was keen to do an administrative review of Sascoc. That sentiment was shared by the portfolio committee’s chair, Beauty Dlulane.

So CSA has some wiggle room and it needs to use it wisely. The federation needs to gain the public and, importantly, the players’ trust. Sponsors, too, will be monitoring how this new administrative structure will provide stability and then vision for the sport in the country.

CSA’s newly installed transformation ombudsman, Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, starts the social justice and nation building initiative in a few weeks, a critical programme that will, if properly handled, define a new, broader and inclusive outlook for cricket.

The national men’s team, the new domestic structure, CSA’s development pipelines and putting in place plans for the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup, which will be hosted here, are all major challenges requiring the new board’s attention. Once that board is in place, there is no time to waste.