Graeme Smith has egg on his face

Cricket SA were forced into an embarrassing backtrack at the weekend that has resulted in them postponing the sport’s return to action this week. CSA launched their brand new variation of cricket, the 3TC, amid much fanfare during an online function on Wednesday last week. For those who might have missed it, three-team cricket, or 3TC, will see three teams of eight players compete against each other in one match made up of 36 overs.

Each team will bat for 12 overs made up of two parts of six overs.

CSA have pulled in some of SA’s best cricketers for the made-for-TV event with teams to be captain Kagiso Rabada, AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock.

New CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith took centrestage at the launch and said they had “been working very closely” with Mthethwa and that they had lost track of how much information they had presented to the sports minister.

Well, it appears wires got crossed somewhere along the line, because Mthethwa announced the green light had not been given.

Mthethwa acknowledged CSA had been in discussions with his office but that the government had not approved the staging of the tournament that was meant to take place at Centurion, in collaboration with broadcaster SuperSport, on Saturday.

Centurion is a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic and CSA would have needed permission from the department of health and sports ministry for it to happen.

That has not been granted.

So CSA’s public relations machine were forced into issuing a statement postponing the event to a date yet to be finalised.

Smith was adamant that CSA had its ducks in a row but Mthethwa produced a vicious inswinger that uprooted the former Proteas’ captain’s middle stump.

Smith’s initial appointment was hailed as one that would go some way to fixing the problems South African cricket faces at present.

Though this Solidarity Cup, as it is called, will eventually generate some much-needed funds for CSA, there is also a charity angle that Smith and all the involved parties deserve praise for.

But CSA’s failure to secure the official go ahead from government has left Smith with egg on his face.