Ken Borland

A concession made by the Sri Lankan government which allows their team to quarantine for just three days upon their return to the island has played an integral part in their Test series against the Proteas over the festive season being able to go ahead.

When England left these shores blaming breaches of the bio-bubble for their own players’ unwillingness to play the ODI series and then promptly announced that their first Test in Sri Lanka would commence on January 14, there were grave concerns that Sri Lanka would pull the plug on the tour to South Africa. With the New Years Test at the Wanderers only scheduled to end on January 7, that would leave them less than a week to return home and quarantine before taking on the notoriously finicky English.

But The Citizen has learnt that the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of Sri Lanka, Honourable Namal Rajapaksa, has granted the team permission, because they are going from one bubble into another, to only quarantine for three days, enabling them to honour their commitments to both South Africa and England.

Cricket South Africa director of cricket Graeme Smith said although he could not comment specifically on Sri Lanka’s return policy, “we have been instructed to test on certain days towards the end of the series for their return to Sri Lanka”.

Discussions with their sports ministry and an assessment conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket’s medical unit headed by Professor Arjuna de Silva, saw SLC gain approval for the tour, which starts with the Boxing Day Test at Centurion from December 26.

Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur, who was last in his homeland as coach of Pakistan two years ago, will leave for South Africa ahead of the team, along with a health specialist, to further assess the situation and make all necessary arrangements for the team’s arrival.

There was no quarter given by Cricket South Africa interim board chairman Justice Zak Yacoob on Thursday as he tore into those he says have been “obstructing” the work of the board mandated by the sports minister and appointed by the Members Council to bring stability to the organisation.

Yacoob announced on Thursday in a teleconference attended by the directors of CSA, the Members Council and the Exco, that Omphile Ramela, until recently the president of the players’ association, and Xolani Vonya, the controversial former Easterns president and a major ally of suspended CSA Company Secretary Welsh Gwaza, will no longer serve on the interim board.

“We have brought proceedings for the removal of a director – Mr Ramela – in terms of the Companies Act because he has been generally obstructive in board matters and trying to defend the indefensible. He refuses to accept the majority decision if he does not feel it’s right and feels he needs to continue to fight. He does not have the discipline to accept a majority decision and is virtually impossible to deal with.

“We spent two hours with him discussing why he must accept majority rule but he said that when he is right he is right. Every word that comes out of his mouth is biblical truth and if anyone disagrees with him then they are met with considerable anger.

“We have also recused Mr Vonya from the board because very serious allegations of dishonesty have been made against him by Easterns, who claim they had everything ready for an enquiry against him on October 24, but instead of facing it, he resigned and then on October 25 he was nominated by the Members Council to this board. They knew, or ought to have known, he left Easterns under dire circumstances,” Yacoob said.

The former Constitutional Court judge said the mandate of the interim board was to restore CSA as a top-class sporting federation, but he said there were people actively working against this objective. He made a point of saying he did not share the optimism of Members Council head Rihan Richards that the interim board would be able to finish their work quickly now that a “clearly defined space” for them to operate has been found.

“I’m not sure at all that the solution discussed with the Members Council will be workable and I’m not sure this will all be over quickly. Let’s see how much obstruction there is but myself and the majority of the board do not share Mr Richards’ optimism. The Members Council has the power to take a resolution to throw us all out tomorrow, but some of them want the process to be completed, others want to stop it but fear the public exposure so they are caught between a rock and a hard place.

“It is a very toxic environment and we are aware that some of the Members Council have taken up the cudgels for Mr Gwaza. Anyone who is earning several millions per year is not going to go away quietly, they will fight any way they can. And other members of the organisation may have to be suspended because many aspects of the operations are not working. The object of the obstructionists is to make sure they are still there in three months time to fudge the issue. I suspect this is a specific design to hold up the board, to make sure we can do very little in the next three months.

“But we have to get rid of problem staff in the organisation and attend to fraud and corruption. Those people causing trouble must go. Our job is to run CSA properly, to bring a level of short-term stability, those who cause disruptions and problems for that have to go,” Yacoob said.

Backline coach Chris Rossouw says he is thoroughly enjoying the big dreams of the Bulls organisation, but also their short-term focus and their attention to detail that has seen them score half-a-dozen more tries than any other team this season.

The Bulls have scored 27 tries in eight matches across Super Rugby Unlocked and the Currie Cup, six more than Western Province. They have also only conceded 13 tries, joint best with the Free State Cheetahs, so the Bulls really are a well-balanced outfit.

“I’m really enjoying working under Jake White because of his wisdom and the structures he has put in place. We have a clear understanding of how he wants to mix attack with defence and he has given us licence in the system to play what we see in front of us and to show our skills. Any vision needs to have short and long-term goals and we have a clear vision of what we want to get right. Our focus is on winning the Currie Cup.

“This organisation – from the board, the sponsors, the investors, the CEO and head coach – has big dreams for the Bulls and the Pro14 in Europe is definitely part of it. I enjoy that there are big dreams and it’s a privilege to be here. I’m very grateful that things are going well with the backline and these young guys are maturing every week and developing other areas of their game,” Rossouw, who was a Western Province stalwart who played five Tests for the Springboks, said.

Rossouw paid tribute to the forward pack which has given the backs a wonderful foundation, as well as the impact of the Sevens players which has been so important for the Bulls.

“A bunch of aspects have had an influence on the success of the backs: we have clarity on the way we want to play and the tight five has given us a great platform, the breakdown has worked well to give us quick ball and the defence has also provided us with opportunities. They are being put under more and more pressure, but these young guys are busy finding their feet.

“Our Sevens players have an unbelievable natural feel for space but the challenge is taking that to XVs, where there is less space but you still have to be effective. The Sevens guys are good people, with great work ethic and skills. In XVs you need to be spectacular and solid in the same game, and it’s unbelievable how those guys have grown in the last five months,” Rossouw said.

England’s two positive Covid-19 tests were confirmed on Tuesday as being two false positives, vindicating Cricket South Africa’s bio-secure protocols for their cancelled ODI series, although chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra did say there will always be some risk involved in the bubble, unless there’s a vacancy for two cricket teams and their staff in some infectious diseases laboratory.

The chief medical officer of the England team, Professor Nick Peirce, issued a statement on Tuesday saying: “Following the independent ratification of the two unconfirmed positive Covid-19 tests from the England camp in South Africa, the England and Wales Cricket Board can confirm that, following further testing and analysis, in the opinion of the independent virologists based in Cape Town and London, the two individuals are not infected, and do not pose any risk of passing on the infection to the rest of the party.”

Manjra told The Citizen on Tuesday that he was relieved by the news.

“I always suspected that they were not true positives and I am glad that England have now confirmed that, it provides some comfort and some vindication. We can’t run away from the fact though that we had three positive tests in the bubble, but that is not that unusual – the English Premier League and the IPL are both in bubbles and they have had positives.

“It is unrealistic to expect there to be zero risk. This new normal is about how we deal with positive tests and how we prevent other people getting infected; that’s what risk management is about and I think we did a reasonable job. The only really bio-safe place you’re going to find is an infectious diseases lab. I think England are victims of their own success in running their bubble and their expectations are unsustainable,” Manjra said.

While those cricket-lovers of a religious persuasion will be praying that Sri Lanka don’t get scared off from touring by the events of the last few days, Manjra said their bubble would be more secure because England had insisted on relaxations in certain areas, such as allowing their squad to play golf in Paarl.

“England’s major issue was the mental health of their players in a confined space so they insisted on some opportunities to chill, for social interaction and to play golf. So our bubble was not as draconian as it was in England and they were willing to take that risk to go and play golf. I would say The Vineyard Hotel was actually the safest place in South Africa, they were fantastic.

“Sri Lanka have expressed their concern but I would give them an assurance that we will create a bio-safe environment, we will improve on the model of the England tour because it will be a bit more stringent. Both teams will be staying at the same hotel again, with all staff living on the same site. But the Irene Country Club has wonderful recreational facilities with a golf course and a big dam on site,” Manjra said.