Shoaib Moosa Sunfoil now part of the test cricket furniture

teams in the world: we believe they can win the 2015 World Cup”.

Considering the low ebb cricket was at when Momentum came on board, how much concern was there within the company that the right thing was being done?

“From a sponsorship aspect in terms of getting value, there wasn’t much to be done to convince people,” Van den Bergh says “From a risk perspective in terms of what was going on, yes, there were questions. But we addressed them jointly with CSA and we felt safe that, being a partner, we had enough insight that we would know when something would go wrong.

“The administration of cricket is very good at this stage. We have an amazing working relationship. I don’t yell behind their backs if they do something wrong, I tell them. They do the same with me.”

Majola was replaced in an acting capacity by Jacques Faul, who was instrumental in the Momentum deal, and then by Nassei Appiah, CSA’s chief financial officer. On July 20 2013, CSA announced that Haroon Lorgat, a former partner at professional services firm EY and previously the CE of the International Cricket Council (ICC), had been appointed as its chief executive.

That angered the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the game’s financial heavyweights, which had a stormy relationship with Lorgat when, as an important figure in the ICC, he had tried to curb their bullying.

As punishment, India shortened their tour to SA last summer, taking some R319m out of CSA’s coffers. Lorgat’s appointment also probably cost CSA when the boards of India, England and Australia took financial control of the international game last year.

Instead of being part of what has come to be called the “Big Three”, SA will have to be content with being lumped into the “Small Seven” — which are dependent on the “Big Three” for lucrative tours to and from their countries.

What did Momentum make of SA cricket’s shares having fallen? “We’re not particularly concerned because since the noise, we haven’t seen anything negative,” says Van den Bergh. “I trust the management in cricket to look after us and them. They have to — if they’re dead, the sponsorship is dead.”

Castle Lager, meanwhile, has strengthened its bond with cricket, which is now in its third decade, to include the naming rights to the SA oneday team.

The independent view is that CSA has righted its ship, which is now sailing into Darren Sammy and Faf du Plessis West Indies and Proteas fall into the “Small Seven”