Ken Borland

Cricket South Africa may have been restored to reasonably good health, but like the nasty winter flu that just won’t go away, the bonus scandal is still causing all manner of coughs and splutters next door at the offices of the Gauteng Cricket Board.

While Gerald Majola reaped the whirlwind of his duplicated bonuses and has been blown away from the CSA offices, an icy wind is howling through the corridors of the Wanderers and its source is seemingly the same.

It was Gauteng cricket that first raised questions about Majola and his handling of the IPL and whether he was paid bonuses that were not in keeping with good governance, and the then-CSA CEO’s heavy-handed response was to remove the GCB board by way of the Langa Commission, using the lack of transformation in the province as an excuse.

A new board, headed by an interim administrator in former International Cricket Council president Ray Mali, was put in place in August 2010, with representation from each of the race groups involved in Gauteng cricket.

With the two-year term of that administration coming to an end in August, each of these groups is now seemingly jostling for position in what is becoming an ugly power struggle.

A group of Premier League clubs has accused Mali of either wanting to continue his stay or making decisions, such as extending acting CEO Cassim Docrat’s contract by a year, that will effect Gauteng cricket long after August.

Earlier this year, they attempted, unsuccessfully, to remove Mali and four other GCB directors, all of them black.

“When CSA placed Gauteng cricket under administration, there was never consensus, the clubs reluctantly agreed to what was meant to be an experimental structure. All sorts of things have been going on in the meantime and the clubs don’t feel they are effectively represented in Gauteng cricket anymore, because of this purely political act,” Keith Lister, who describes himself as a “volunteer in Gauteng cricket for 25 years” and is “assisting” the disenchanted Premier League clubs, told Mail & Guardian.

Lister says CSA are trying to run Gauteng cricket from across Corlett Drive.

“The clubs have rights and we won’t be bullied into being told what to do by CSA. They should be the servants of the provinces’ interests, but they want us to toe the line because of what they say is our history and because we brought the game into disrepute.

“Why do they think they have this power over us? Nowhere in the Langa Commission does it say in terms of Articles X, Y or Z that CSA has this power.

“And how did Gauteng cricket bring the game into disrepute? Who actually did?” Lister asks.

But both Mali and CSA acting CEO Jacques Faul have given assurances that the interim administration will end on August 31.

“My term ends on August 31, but this [attempt to oust him before that] affects the gains that have been achieved. There is a process, a formula, a way of doing things. Why has this happened after 21 months? Keith Lister was part of the process, they made submissions and this was the agreed-upon route, which must take its full course.

“I was not just imposed on the GCB, the structures agreed on my name which was put forward by [former GCB chairman] Mtutuzeli Nyoka,” Mali said.

Faul said there was no intention to extend the interim administration and he hoped that would bring an end to the bonus scandal.

“I am not aware that we are considering extending the period of administration and I am of the opinion that it will not be in the best interests of CSA or GCB to do that.

“We also note that no club objected to the administration for 21 months out of 24, and we are uncertain of the motive for doing so now. We do not see the matter, should it continue, being resolved within a month of the termination of administration and again question why certain individuals would want to do that at this very late stage.

“We can only hope that this is not a result of the division that was caused by the bonus scandal and that the GCB has become the battlefield for this very sad chapter of our cricket history. All indications are that the GCB will not be under administration after August 2012,” Faul said.

The new Gauteng cricket constitution is also set to be adopted at the AGM in August and could be the motive for the power struggle.

“Gauteng requires a new constitution and it is imperative to transform and restructure the administrative body. The board is committed to a new identity for Gauteng cricket that will reflect the different communities. We want to reshape the landscape of cricket in the province – there must be no domination of one group over another!” Mali said.

The chief stumbling block in the proposed new constitution is over voting rights: The old constitution gives Premier League clubs extra votes, while the proposal is to implement a system of one club, one vote, although Mali has indicated a willingness to compromise and have one team, one vote.

“The voting rights goes to the heart of the problem. The current board approved Premier League status for new clubs, which we objected to on cricketing and constitutional grounds. It increases the power of some clubs, while diluting the power of others,” Lister admits.

“Should a Sunday morning twenty20 club have the same power as a Premier League team? I understand the argument that the old traditionally white clubs are clinging to power, but I don’t think that’s so. There are responsible people taking care of the Premier League clubs and they support transformation in the Premier League.”

While the targets of the Lister-assisted clubs were all black, Mali says he does not believe the issue is a racial one.

“I won’t say it’s a racial issue. I would term it a power struggle,” he said.

The issue of power is clear when CSA acting president Willie Basson says things like: “Considering their history, they [Lister’s clubs] need to very seriously consider their positions and their actions from here onward. There are various options; CSA can withdraw or CSA can prolong the period of administration.” [Business Day, June 6]

The response of Daniel Phetla, the chairman of Alexandra Cricket Club, was “On the (Gauteng) board there have been murmurs that it could be extended. When people talk like that you start to wonder if we are moving towards a dictatorial situation; that’s a sign of Mugabeism.” [Business Day, June 22].

Lister has gone so far as to accuse CSA of wanting an Apartheid-style solution.

“CSA want three chambers of equal power based on colour. Dr Verwoerd would be so proud, he would say ‘I told you so’.

“That South Africans are not capable of solving their problems unless they’re in racial groupings is utter bullshit,” Lister said.

But is the love of the game in the province going to be enough for the people involved in Gauteng cricket to solve their complex problems?

Last October seems a long time ago now for Lions fans as their union gets knocked from all sides, not just on the playing field but also in the boardroom.

John Mitchell, having overseen their fairytale Currie Cup triumph on October 29 last year, has now been suspended, adding to all the financial worries and the threat of SuperRugby expulsion hanging over the Lions’ heads.

To say Mitchell has an overbearing personality would be putting it mildly. There are very few people in Lions rugby who are willing to say they will be sad to see him go.

The New Zealander deserves credit for restoring pride to the Lions, but once he had done that, his limited man-management skills came to the fore and Mitchell’s old-school views on discipline and treating players like kids in boarding school eventually lost him the team.

In this professional era when even the players’ breakfasts are measured,  getting them to run a marathon around the Johannesburg Stadium athletics track just two weeks before their opening SuperRugby fixture looks pretty dumb.

Mitchell has had a simmering relationship with the media as well. While any dissenting voices amongst the team were quickly put in their place, any questions from the press that Mitchell did not approve of would lead to cold-shoulder treatment and public ridicule.

I was not the only journalist who was told “Well I don’t know what match you were watching, mate.” Mitchell seemed to take delight in cutting down the media, preferably in front of large audiences in the Lions auditorium, as he did one day to the 94.7 Highveld Stereo man, who’s question was totally well-meaning and non-confrontational. And that’s the same radio station that have been long-term sponsors and supporters of the embattled team.

The players have been the brunt of some criticism suggesting they wanted to get rid of Mitchell because they just wanted a nice holiday when it came to training.

But it took enormous courage, led by impressive captain Josh Strauss, for them to stand up to their bullying coach. There is a good spirit of hard-working endeavour at Ellis Park, as president Kevin de Klerk pointed out.

“The spirit in the camp is very good and, if you think where the Lions were three years ago, we are substantially better off now. Rugby is a dynamic business and we would love it to be a plain-sailing ship, but we fool ourselves if we think that will be the case. We will deal with the John Mitchell matter with the correct protocol,” De Klerk said.

When De Klerk says the correct protocol, he is not beating around the bush – the Lions will have to religiously stick to the straight and narrow in the disciplinary process if they are going to successfully rid themselves of Mitchell.

The 48-year-old will show the same street-fighting attitude he imbued in the Lions in challenging his suspension. Mitchell has done it before – in 2008 the Western Force’s senior players staged a similar intervention, but his watertight contract meant they could not sack him.

Which is why there has been no criticism of Mitchell spewing forth from either the players or the board, and why De Klerk has made an about-turn and stressed that the suspension was not driven by the team.

“It’s inaccurate to say it was player-driven, it was not just the players on their own. And one can’t say Josh Strauss led the complaints, that would be inaccurate too. There were a number of issues,” De Klerk said.

The reason for this is that if it was just the players that had complaints about their treatment, Mitchell could turn around and say he was merely doing his best as the coach to make them a winning team, tough-love if you like. A lot of what coaches do to their teams could be considered unfair, but would it be illegal in terms of labour law?

Fortunately, it’s not just the players and media that Mitchell has alienated. It’s sponsors as well.

Did you see a whole heap of extra Lions coverage during their SuperRugby tour this year?

No, and that’s despite the considerable amount of money that MTN were willing to pay for two journalists to travel with the team. The sponsors obviously felt that their effort would be rewarded with extra coverage for the Lions and exposure for themselves.

Unfortunately, the journalists were left to survive on the same scraps given to the Australian and New Zealand reporters … Mitchell would not go out of his way to give them anything extra.

The Lions, under pressure from all sides, desperately need good PR, so it is time they called an end to the John Mitchell era.

Switzerland is renown for the quality of its health care –and what could be healthier than cavorting around the mountains in all that fresh air, singing The Sound of Music? –and Proteas coach Gary Kirsten has decided that the country will be an ideal place to check on the health of the team spirit ahead of the crunch tour of England.

The South African team left Johannesburg on Monday night for Switzerland and the outdoor survival camp of explorer and compatriot Mike Horn.

“We’re joining up with Mike Horn, a South African adventurer of note, and we’re just going to hang out with a guy we respect hugely. I hope it creates some fantastic memories for the squad and team spirit will be very important against a very good side. We like to be creative and think out of the box a bit,” Kirsten said.

The activities are still a secret, but will probably involve the mountains, rivers and glaciers of the famous skiing destination, testing the mental and physical skills of the players.

The trip has been set up by new performance director Paddy Upton, one of the most respected names in the sports psychology industry and Kirsten said the four days of totally non-cricketing activity would not affect their preparations for the first Test starting on July 19 at the Oval.

“It’s not an exact science, how much preparation you need, but we’ll have 17 days together as a team before the first Test and we just wanted to cover all our bases.

“We’ll be playing against a very high-quality team, so we really need to connect as a unit. The series might well boil down to a couple of crucial moments and we want to make sure that we are up for those,” Kirsten said at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday.

“We want to become the best in the world, that’s a peg we’ve put into the ground, but it’s not our focus. What we do every day is what’s important and we will prepare as best we can. I can promise that no stone will be left unturned come July 19,” Kirsten said.

To beat England, South Africa’s batting will have to back up the attack that has caught the imagination ahead of the series.

“I know it’s more exciting to talk about bowlers hurling the ball down at 150km/h, but the batsmen also have a crucial part to play –we must have runs on the board. I believe we have enough batsmen who have done the job under pressure, they all have good records in England and those who haven’t played tests there have played a lot of county cricket. As a whole, the top six needs to be really tight,” captain Graeme Smith said.

“I also hope our attack dominates, but both sides’ bowlers are highly skilful. Imran Tahir is an asset for us because he allows us something different – an attacking spinner – but the rest of the attack needs to come to the party as well with skill and pace,” Smith said.

The South African captain has a magnificent record in England, his 1083 runs in nine Tests coming at an average of 72.20 and he will celebrate his 100th Test in the opening match of the series at the Oval from July 19.

But Smith’s focus is squarely on the series outcome.

“I’m obviously extremely proud to have the opportunity to play 100 Tests for my country and my motivation is the same as it was on my first tour of England. But I hope we win the Test – my 100th is just a side thing – and we don’t need much more motivation than beating England in England.

“Hopefully this year we can take a step forward to the next level and hang on to the No 1 ranking, but we’re up against a very good England team,” Smith said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120702/Fresh_Swiss_air_the_tonic_for_Proteas

South Africa coach Gary Kirsten said on Monday that the decision to visit Switzerland for a team-building exercise before their tour of England was because spirit could prove the difference between the two squads in the Test series between the number one and two ranked sides.

The South Africans left Johannesburg on Monday night and headed for Switzerland, where they will spend four days with explorer and compatriot Mike Horn at his outdoor survival camp.

They will then arrive in England on Friday, playing warm-up matches against Somerset (July 9-10) and Kent (July 13-15) before the first Test starts at the Oval on July 19.

“It’s not an exact science, how much preparation you need, but we’ll have 17 days together as a team before the first Test and we just wanted to cover all our bases.

“We’ll be playing against a very high quality team, so we really need to connect as a unit. The series might well boil down to a couple of crucial moments and we want to make sure that we are up for those,” Kirsten told a news conference at Johannesburg International Airport on Monday.

“We’re joining up with Mike Horn, a South African adventurer of note, and we’re just going to hang out with a guy we respect hugely. I hope it creates some fantastic memories for the squad and team spirit will be very important against a very good side. We like to be creative and think out of the box a bit,” Kirsten said.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith will play his 100th Test at the Oval and will also want to continue his fine form in England, where he has scored 1083 runs in nine tests at an average of 72.20.

But Smith said beating England in the series and reclaiming the number one spot for South Africa on the International Cricket Council rankings were his prime motivations.

“I’m obviously extremely proud to have the opportunity to play 100 Tests for my country and my motivation is the same as it was on my first tour of England. But I hope we win the Test – my 100th is just a side thing – and we don’t need much more motivation than beating England in England. Hopefully this year we can take a step forward to the next level and hang on to the number one ranking, but we’re up against a very good England team,” Smith said.

Smith added that even though most attention had focused on the two teams’ bowlers, the batsmen also had a key role to play.

“I hope our attack dominates, but both sides’ bowlers are highly skilful. Imran Tahir is an asset for us because he allows us something different – an attacking spinner – but the rest of the attack also needs to perform with skill and pace.

“I know it’s more exciting to talk about bowlers hurling the ball down at 150km/h, but the batsmen also have a crucial part to play – we must have runs on the board. I believe we have enough batsmen who have done the job under pressure, they all have good records in England and those who haven’t played Tests there have played a lot of county cricket. As a whole, the top six needs to be really tight,” Smith said.

“We want to become the best in the world, that’s a peg we’ve put in the ground, but it’s not our focus. What we do every day is what’s important and we will prepare as best we can. I can promise that no stone will be left unturned come July 19,” Kirsten said.

Smith said the sense of anticipation for the tour could be felt in South Africa and had rubbed off on the team.

“Just the buzz around shows how much the tour means, we feel how much the tour means to the fans. It’s between the two top teams and the England side have proven themselves over the last couple of years to be very methodical and well-drilled. They won a big series in Australia and we expect them to be well-prepared and battle-hardened.

“We respect them a lot and the cricket will be hard, no one will give an inch,” Smith said.