Cricket SA back in the good books
CRICKET South Africa’s new governance structure - that places an emphasis on independent leadership at board level - will be the example Nathi Mthethwa hopes other sports federations in the country will follow.
Yesterday’s release of a new Memorandum of Incorporation (MoI) for Cricket SA - effectively the organisation’s constitution - saw smiles, and agreements, but was the result of months of drama that left CSA “millimetres from the cliff.”
“This development sets a good precedent,” said the Sports Minister. He cited the Nicholson Report, from which he and the Interim Board he appointed to resolve CSA’s administrative crisis, drew counsel.
“Nicholson’s principles are not anathema to good governance. The principle here is one of separation of powers, one of independence on the board...it is a good, good precedent.”
Cricket SA’s new MoI lays the platform for the creation of a new board of directors. That board will comprise 15 individuals; eight independent directors drawn from outside of SA cricket’s circles, five non-independent directors appointed by CSA’s provincial presidents and the chief executive officer and chief financial officer.
The chairman of the Interim Board, Dr Stavros Nicolaou stated that the independent directors would all have some understanding of cricket, but their main expertise should be drawn from a wide field including, marketing, the legal fraternity and finance.
Earlier yesterday, Mthethwa said that he’d instructed his department to halt the process of gazetting his invoking of Section 13 of the National Sport and Recreation Act, which would have removed recognition of CSA as the governing authority for cricket in the country, thereby jeopardising the Proteas’ standing as South Africa’s representative cricket team. That would have had far-reaching consequences for the sport.
“The scenario was almost apocalyptic,” said Nicolaou.
The new board will be appointed at CSA’s Annual General meeting, scheduled to take place on June 12.
A six-person nominations committee will be created, drawing on experts from the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Institute of Directors, the Legal Practices Council; a nominee from the Members Council; a SA Cricketers Association nominee with international playing experience; and a representative chosen from amongst Cricket SA’s former presidents.
Applications for the independent directors position will close on May 10, with eight nominees being presented to the AGM for appointment to the new board.
That board will be chaired by one of the independent directors, with all 15 board members voting to decide who it will be. In addition, the Members Council will continue to exist and will appoint a president. However, in an attempt to ensure that there won’t a cross-over of authority as has been the case in the last decade, the Board will be responsible for the day to day running of the organisation, while the Members Council will be seized with “cricketing matters.”
The Board will decide which official will represent CSA in dealing with the International Cricket Council.
Rihan Richards, the acting chairman of CSA’s Members Council, hopes that the creation of a new administrative structure will provide stability within the organisation, after years of CSA lurching from one crisis to the next. In light of that happening, said Richards, CSA would be aiming to bid for an ICC World Cup tournament in the 2027-2031 cycle. “We are going to target the men’s, women’s and under-19s. We are going very heavy for the 2027 men’s 50-over World Cup.”
South Africa last hosted a senior ICC tournament in 2009, when the Champions Trophy was held here, while the next senior event will be the Womens’ T20 World Cup in 2023.
Within the next fortnight the Interim Board will submit a report to Mthethwa outlining how it has fulfilled the ninepoint mandate he handed to it, when that board was appointed at the end of October last year.