Ken Borland

I know Cricket South Africa’s fancy head office is situated at No.86 on the corner of Fifth and Glenhove streets in Melrose Estate, but in figurative terms, their erf extends to wherever the great sport is played in this country and to every house where the game is supported, whether they have a back garden ‘ cricket field’ or not.

Now obviously what goes on in the boardrooms and executive offices of CSA is cause for great concern, especially the disdain with which too many self-serving administrators treat the good of the game as a whole, but I know for a fact there are many people in those Melrose Estate offices who do fantastic, selfless work for cricket and have done so for many years.

Covering the Cricket South Africa beat is a tough job because journalistic integrity demands that we interrogate and criticise them in no uncertain terms when their chief decision-makers have lost their way so badly. Like the valiant journalists in this country who have worked so hard to uncover State Capture, most of the cricket media has shone a light on #CricketCapture, even though it is far less of a threat to the country in general than what corrupt politicians have been up to.

By constantly painting CSA in a bad light, we run the risk of saying everyone who works for them is a bad person, but that is certainly not the case. It is the leaders, the Board and executive, who are letting the whole organisation down.

The hard work of director of cricket Graeme Smith and the Proteas management will hopefully show fruit when we return to international action against England next month, but while results at the top are easy to see and examine, the work of those running the cricket pipeline is often less apparent.

The launch of the new season was held this week at one of their focus areas, the Hammanskraal Cricket Club, and the excellent presentation of Eddie Khoza, the Acting Manager of Cricket Pathways, showed the effort and resources CSA are putting into the development of the game.

Khoza’s passion and enthusiasm for cricket were obvious, and he is one of the younger leaders in CSA who should go far. For an organisation that is unfairly being harangued for a perceived lack of Black African management, it would make sense for them to drop the ‘Acting’ part of Khoza’s title and make him a full-time manager.

Graeme Smith is wisely re-examining the sagacity of spending hundreds of millions of rand on the Hubs and RPC system in light of what comes out at the other end of the pipeline, but I have a feeling the blockage is closer to the top end of the pipe than at grassroots.

As Khoza pointed out, the system not only plants cricket infrastructure in areas where this is lacking, but also tries to re-establish the sport in schools where it has fallen dormant due to socio-economic reasons.

Hammanskraal is now rated a Blue Flag club because it is considered a healthy pathway. At the top end it has produced players such as Alfred Mothoa, the Titans stalwart who has now joined the Knights, and Tebogo Macheke, a women’s wicketkeeper who is earmarked for the Proteas and receiving specialist coaching from Tuks coach Kruger van Wyk, a former New Zealand gloveman.

But five kilometres from the Hammanskraal cricket ground and its impressive clubhouse, is Prestige College, one of CSA’s focus schools, which means cricket is being re-engineered back into the school. But CSA’s development programme is not just about cricket but also the holistic individual, so academic support is also provided to bridge any gaps.

There are 552 schools across the country who are catered for in a similar way, linked to 57 Hubs and 12 RPCs. Not all of these Hubs and RPCs have been totally successful, but there seems no better system at the moment and let’s hope more talent blooms from these historically disadvantaged areas.

So, although the cricket-loving public understandably sees red when they hear or read CSA’s head honchos being dishonest or acting in ways that clearly lack integrity, we should remember that there are still many great people working for that embattled organisation, and they are just as embarrassed and appalled by what is happening in their own Boardroom.

The way the Proteas played in the ODI series against Australia will provide a blueprint for their return-to-play series against England and the form shown by the South Africans at the IPL as well as the solid base four-day cricket will provide for those staying at home is most encouraging, national assistant coach Enoch Nkwe said on Thursday.

The Proteas’ first international action since March 7, when they completed a wonderful 3-0 whitewash of Australia, was confirmed this week with England arriving to play three T20s from November 27, followed by three ODIs from December 4-9.

“We did a lot of good things against Australia, but there was still a lot to get right. But in terms of individual and team confidence, especially with the squad we played with, that result will go a long way. That’s our reference point, we will build on that and there’s no better team to measure yourself against than world champions England.

“You do worry about the guys getting enough game time before returning to international play, but fortunately the IPL has got guys back into a competitive space and helped us. The fact that guys like KG Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Faf du Plessis and Quinny de Kock are doing well is even better; it means our core are competing very well and they will come back with energy.

“Domestically, we’re happy to be starting with four-day cricket because that will give the guys a lot of time on their feet, it will stretch them. Transitioning from red-ball to white-ball cricket is not a huge factor and they’ll have a good base, they can get their confidence right up there by scoring runs and taking wickets. We will have enough internal Proteas matches to sharpen things and raise the intensity,” Nkwe said at Cricket South Africa’s season launch at Hammanskraal Cricket Club on Thursday.

With both England and South Africa restricted to a biobubble at The Vineyard hotel in Cape Town for the duration of the series, Nkwe said making sure there were enough players to cover for any positive Covid tests would require a bigger squad and playing cricket during a pandemic would require other obstacles to be overcome.

“We’ll ned to broaden the squad, we’re always looking as a coaching team for who else is out there and we know we’ll pick up some new players along the line. Then it’s about deciding who to give time out too. But the mental challenge of being in a bubble is the biggest element. Our preparation won’t be as flexible as before and cricket is not just about skills, it’s about the mental health and emotional state of the players.

“So that’s a massive element added to our preparation. We want to create the best environment for the players, so that they are comfortable, but they also need to be stretched. The Vineyard is apparently quite open though and there’s a bit more room for the players to breathe a bit. Hopefully things will be flexible enough for us, but we just have to get used to it and not allow it to hold back our performance,” Nkwe said.

New national convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said on Wednesday that it was important domestic cricket and the SA A side are not seen as an inconvenience but as crucial parts of the selection system leading up to players being chosen for the Proteas.

The former ODI international’s appointment was announced by Cricket South Africa on Wednesday and the 40-year-old from Kimberley has been involved as a scout, a bowling consultant, selector and assistant coach through various levels of the pipeline, as well as being a television commentator.

Mpitsang acknowledged that his focus as convenor of selectors for the national side will have to shift somewhat from being a spotter and developer of talent into a sifter of talent to choose finished products ready to shine in international cricket. Which is where he sees the franchise game and the SA A team playing a crucial role.

“In terms of the Proteas, when guys come into the side, the reference point is how well they have done in domestic cricket; we want them to transfer that into international cricket and we want to make sure they can dominate at that level too. Some players flourish immediately with the Proteas, while others take a bit of time, but it’s all about playing cricket at the right intensity.

“That’s where the importance of the domestic system comes in; that plays a vital role in providing the cricketers. Our high performance programme is also critical. Franchise cricket and the SA A team might not totally bridge the gap to the Proteas, but it’s important that we give prospects some sort of international standard exposure, which is where the A side comes in with their tours to Australia and India, playing in those conditions,” Mpitsang told The Citizen on Wednesday.

The former pace bowler who took 245 first-class wicket at an average of 29.80 admitted that the health – or lack thereof – of the Proteas Test team was his greatest challenge going into the job.

“In terms of challenges, how the national team performs is obviously the focus. Results don’t always give a true reflection, but as a starting point, the Test team hasn’t really been great recently. We pride ourselves on being a strong Test nation and we need to turn those results around, we need to find a successful formula.

“Obviously there’s the issue of the new Test captain and for that a real leader is needed. I have some ideas, but we need to discuss that as a team and then I can see who the leaders are. I also need to understand where the Proteas system is at; I’ve been involved at all levels of our game, but I need to understand from the inside, see what the Proteas’ true culture is and then I can sit down and decide on the way to go,” Mpitsang said.

Despite Cricket South Africa and government currently being at loggerheads over the refusal of their Board to step down, England’s tour next month looks set to go ahead following a magnanimous gesture by government.

England is one of the designated high-risk countries when it comes to Covid-19, but reports overseas on Tuesday suggested the South African government have not only allowed their contingent of more than 40 people to enter the country but have also waived the usual quarantine requirements as long as the 50-over world champions remain in a biosecure bubble.

That means England will be allowed to train at the Western Province Cricket Club for the 10 days between their arrival on November 17 and the first match against the Proteas. The tourists are apparently going to stay at The Vineyard Hotel, along with the South African squad.

Three ODIs and three T20 internationals are on the schedule for England, with all the matches on tour being played either at Newlands in Cape Town or Boland Park in Paarl, without spectators.

The series will follow hot on the heels of the Indian Premier League, but both England captain Eoin Morgan and Proteas skipper Quinton de Kock expressed their enthusiasm for the series on Monday night when they spoke at a Chance to Shine charity event.

“There is a huge responsibility not just to get your home country’s fixtures underway, but a huge responsibility to facilitate other countries around the world. We will do what we can to try and get cricket back on, because it means a huge amount for people in Lockdown in their own countries, and also for Cricket South Africa financially.

“I know the worry we had about potentially not bowling a ball all summer and the detrimental impact that would have, probably to grassroots cricket more than any other part of the game. If the tour goes ahead, we’d love to come down, as the series we played last time was incredible,” Morgan said.

“If the boys do come over I’m sure it’ll be a good series once again,” De Kock said. “The world saw the last series between us, even though we lost, we still played unbelievable cricket, so did England. We are hoping it will go on, but with the pandemic, who knows?”