CSA can’t even get their sugarcoating right

Cricket South Africa were expected yesterday to issue a statement that would have sugarcoated the delay in appointing a new director of cricket, meaning less than a month away from the England Test series, the Proteas have no coach and no selection panel.

Except CSA couldn’t even get that right, with nothing being heard from them by the time this column went to print in early evening.

The expectation came from an SABC radio interview CEO Thabang Moroe gave on Thursday night in which he said: “We will make communication about the director of cricket role on Friday (yesterday). There has been a lot of talk about it and we ask the public to wait for the announcement.”

Well Mr Moroe, the public’s patience is clearly wearing thin and support for South African cricket is probably at its lowest ebb since

Hansie Cronje betrayed the game to his match-fixing buddies.

Even when the appointment is made, the new director of cricket will be stepping into several minefields. First and foremost the appointment of the coach and what happens to Enoch Nkwe, one of this country’s most promising coaches but unfairly thrown into the deep end for the Indian tour.

Then there is the selection panel and convenor of selectors to sort out. That job is made even more challenging because there is just one round of four-day matches, finishing just four days before the first Test against England starts.

It was going to be difficult enough for the Test batsmen to get back into red-ball mode after Mzansi Super League, but they also have to deal with the scars and rebuild their confidence after not just the Indian disaster but the lack of runs at the World Cup and their struggles on poor pitches at home for the last two summers.

Most damningly for CSA, they actually had a top-class appointment all lined up for director of cricket in Graeme Smith. But Smith sent a hopeful cricket nation further into despair last week when he withdrew his availability.

While Smith cited a lack “of freedom and support to initiate the required changes” in his statement of withdrawal, it has subsequently been reported that he pulled himself from contention due to a simple lack of professionalism by CSA.

Smith had apparently been told the job was his and this was later confirmed again by CSA, who said they just needed him to come in and sign the contract. But then the lines of communication went dead and Smith didn’t get replies to his messages asking when he could complete the paperwork.

It’s a process that was on the go since September and Smith unsurprisingly decided to pull the plug – how would he be able to work with people like that? He didn’t even get the chance to discuss the changes that he feels are necessary.

It’s a bit like telling someone you’re bringing them on to bowl next but you never give them the ball.

The problem with CSA is that they have so many fires burning at the moment. They lit most of them themselves and instead of trying to extinguish them, they seem intent on whisking more fuel into the flames.

Their latest fiasco was their weekend getaway to Zimbali with the national players, ostensibly to thrash out some issues and get some common ground. But for an organisation as cash-strapped as they are, to invite more than a hundred people to this shindig was extreme wastefulness.

The players then had to listen to a 90-minute presentation from Moroe on his vision of the game, after which the event just degenerated into “an enormous pissup” according to a source.

To make matters worse, some of the players were then allegedly the victim of sexual harassment by one of the CSA executive, the culprit later becoming aggressive due to excessive alcohol consumption.

There is little doubt the current leadership of CSA are burning the game to the ground.

Even when the appointment is made, the new boss will be stepping into several minefields.