Ken Borland

Proteas coach Mark Boucher says the team has found a new vision and identity for themselves and also a new way of playing that will hopefully bring greater success as a rebuilding side looks to regain their glory days.

The South African cricket team’s Culture Camp at Skukuza last month not only dealt with wrongs of the past, especially those that involved racial discrimination, but also plotted a way ahead for the future. #ProteaFire, the mantra of the team that went to number one in all three formats with Boucher as a player, has now officially been extinguished, replaced by three watchwords: Belonging; Empathy; Respect.

“One of the biggest changes came in terms of #ProteaFire, which gave us direction and the values to become the number one side, especially when under pressure. But none of those guys are playing anymore and we have outgrown that, it’s an outdated identity. Maybe it became too commercialised, it ended up just being on paper and the guys no longer live it.

“There are more cultures in the team now and it was time those came through. It’s important for a new team to create a new identity and that’s exactly what we got – a new set of values. It will start with how we play and the players chose the same route that myself and Enoch Nkwe [assistant coach] wanted, everything aligned without us really trying. It’s also about how new guys coming into the team must feel and management did not choose the vision, the players did,” Boucher said in an audio interview released by Cricket South Africa on Monday.

Boucher said the Culture Camp also gave the larger group of players from which the Proteas will draw the opportunity to talk about their pet peeves and he found the revelations to be eye-opening.

“We all come from different backgrounds and have been brought up in different ways, and we must understand our shortfalls in the past. We can’t turn a blind eye, we must acknowledge them, that’s empathy, which is a big word for us. We need to use our four or five different cultures to our advantage and I came out of the camp with a completely different understanding.

“I educated myself, I found it quite fascinating, things I have never thought about before. The camp opened my eyes in a massive way and I would encourage people to get out there and try and understand the feelings of different races. Now the best thing for the game would be for our biggest assets – the players – to be able to take over the headlines for good things, let the game do the talking rather than the other things that have been hogging the headlines,” Boucher said.

The Proteas were meant to make their return from the Covid-19 Lockdown with a tour to the West Indies in the southern hemisphere winter, but it seems it will be England touring South Africa that will provide them with their first taste of international action.

England are keen to play three ODIs and three T20 internationals from mid-November to early December, with domestic action kicking off in South Africa on November 2. While British media have speculated that the series will take place in a bio-bubble in Cape Town, it is known that Highveld venues have also been told to prepare to host the 50-over world champions.

The series against one of the Big Three provides an opportunity too good to waste for CSA to start generating some much-needed income after all cricket came to a standstill in March.

Despite this week’s series loss to Australia, England remain a powerhouse white-ball outfit and their tour could be one of the highlights of the summer, particularly since Sri Lanka will be the Test opposition over the traditional festive season schedule.

Then again, the Proteas have a score to settle with Sri Lanka, who became the first sub-continent team to win a series in South Africa with their shock 2-0 triumph in 2018/19.

South Africa’s cricketers will have four-day cricket in November and December in which to get up to full power, with the Momentum One-Day Cup scheduled for early next year. While the Mzansi Super League has reportedly been scrapped for this season due to the constraints of Lockdown, it is possible that a franchise T20 competition will be played to end the summer.

Spin is a word often used both in cricketing and PR contexts, but in terms of the sport, amongst the most important properties of a spinner are guile and deception. And Cricket South Africa’s Board and executive have mastered these arts.

Fortunately, the cracks are starting to show in the great edifice of #CricketCapture, thanks to some extra heat applied by Sascoc, the indefatigable work of certain journalists and the valuable input of stakeholders whose love for the game and desire to serve it far outweighs personal considerations.

The key, as Sascoc have correctly insisted, is the Fundudzi Forensic Report, which was used to fire former CEO Thabang Moroe and then hastily hidden away from public view. Moroe certainly did the game great harm by alienating so many vital stakeholders, but for justice to be seen to be served, the actual misdemeanours that led to his axing need to be made known.

The CSA Board consistently ignore the fact that they are a non-profit company operating in the public interest, so they have to be transparent. Their idea of transparency was revealed in their absurd statement after their unsuccessful meeting with Sascoc on Thursday night that their decision to restrict access to the report “has been made in the interests of transparency”. Classic Doublespeak like their constant and incorrect use of “unanimous” when it comes to Members Council decisions.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Fundudzi Report implicates the Board and senior executives in misgovernance; those of us who covered Moroe’s fall from grace know full well that he did not act without the firm support of others.

And where these miscreants have shown particular guile and deception is in allowing the Members Council to commission the forensic investigation and allowing them to believe it was their property. But the Board then changed the terms of reference of the inquest and, once the report eventually came out, they put it under lock-and-key at the offices of their lawyers, Bowman Gilfillan.

Together, the CSA Board, senior executives and their lawyers have used scare tactics – the threat of litigation or enormous legal costs – to convince the Members Council that the forensic report should not be made public. Instead the provincial presidents were only allowed to see a summary of the report, explained to them by the CSA Board’s own legal representatives from Bowman Gilfillan.

But it has now emerged that the summary was written by Bowman Gilfillan themselves, and not by Fundudzi, the independent investigators tasked with the audit.

Let us be clear on one thing. Without wanting to slander the legal profession, lawyers only act in the interests of whoever is paying them; moral and ethical questions don’t really come into it, which is why even the most vile child-killer will have a legal representative doing their best to get them off.

And who pays for Bowman Gilfillan? It is the CSA Board that engages their services, under the advisement of their legal head, Company Secretary Welsh Gwaza.

The fact that Gwaza was previously in the employ of Bowman Gilfillan is one of many potential conflicts of interest. A strong ally of Moroe, Gwaza’s name has been linked with the permanent CEO position and he seems to be in the middle of just about every contentious issue CSA are embroiled in, having recently been the internal auditor and acting chief operating officer as well as head of legal.

Bowman Gilfillan will be acting under his briefing and the appointment of independent directors goes through his office as well.

Which brings us to Dr Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw. This self-confessed non-fan of cricket and reportedly close friend of Gwaza’s, was appointed in May as a temporary independent director and it is astonishing how quickly she rose into a position of power on the board, before she blundered into sponsorship matters on social media this week.

There are many who believe she is a Gwaza placement and the integrity of the whole nominations process ahead of the postponed AGM has been thrown into question by the person handling it allowing their own nomination to go through while stopping others.

But it is also in the Members Council where Gwaza’s hand is seen in machinations to ensure his cabal retain power.

The Easterns Cricket Union has been the kingmaker in CSA history before – the Majola bonus scandal took far longer to resolve because of the obstructive work of the then president, Andy O’Connor, known to the cricket writers fraternity as The Milkman back in those days.

The current president of Easterns is Xolani Peter Vonya, who was one of the spokespeople for the Members Council this week as they tried to explain why they are now backing their Board and won’t comply with the Sascoc resolution to set up an independent task team to investigate the affairs of CSA.

But the constitutionality of Vonya even sitting on the Members Council has been called into question because his own board at Easterns suspended him for dictatorial behaviour, financial mismanagement and a failure to implement the recommendations of a previous inquest into the dismissal of their CEO.

But then CSA intervened and said due process had not been followed, reinstating Vonya and asking Judge Bernard Ngoepe to sort out the mess. And who was it that instigated this intervention? None other than Gwaza.

With seven Board members on the 14-strong Members Council, Vonya provides that crucial eighth vote that allows the status quo to continue. And he is certainly using it to ensure his place in the feeding trough.

Quinton de Kock – Mumbai Indians

He may have admitted to doing very little actual cricket training through lockdown, but De Kock remains one of the most outrageously talented batsmen in world cricket. He will want to pick up from last season when he was the Mumbai Indians’ leading run-scorer and third best overall with 529 at 35.26, including four half-centuries. He will welcome a potential new opening partner in Australian Chris Lynn, giving Mumbai two experienced master-blasters at the top of the order. De Kock has also become a highly efficient, reliable wicketkeeper.

IPL career: 50 matches, 1456 runs, HS 108, Ave 30.33, SR 131.28, 1×100, 10×50; 31 catches, 8 stumpings.

AB de Villiers – Bangalore Royal Challengers

De Villiers may be 36-years-old and out of international cricket for more than two years, but he is still one of the best T20 batsmen in the world and will remain a massive threat for the Royal Challengers. His run-haul from the last two IPL seasons is nearly a thousand runs at an average of 48.52 and a strike-rate of 164.05 with 11 half-centuries. His recent form is also superb, averaging 46.42 with a strike-rate of 152.58 in last season’s Mzansi Super League and his last competitive innings was a phenomenal 61 off 24 balls in the 3TCricket launch in July, when he once again looked the best South African batsman on display.

IPL career: 154 matches, 4395 runs, HS 133*, Ave 39.95, SR 151.23, 3×100, 33×50; 93 catches, 7 stumpings.

Faf du Plessis – Chennai Super Kings

Chennai retained the services of the former South African captain by using their Right to Match card to snatch him away from the Punjab Kings XI for 1.6 crore rupees – more than R3.5 million – and they believe it is a discount. The three-time champions value Du Plessis’ experience, composure and consistency very highly and he has played some vital innings on their way to those three titles. A great team man and fielder to boot.

IPL career: 71 matches, 1853 runs, HS 96, Ave 31.40, SR 126.74, 12×50; 1-0-16-0.

David Miller – Rajasthan Royals

The IPL is one of the toughest schools in cricket and the 31-year-old Miller, having been let go by the Punjab Kings XI, will want to show that he still has what it takes to be a dominant middle-order force for his new franchise, the Rajasthan Royals. The Maritzburg College left-hander averaged a remarkable 61.33 at a strike-rate of 128 for the Durban Heat in last season’s Mzansi Super League, suggesting he still has plenty to offer.

IPL career: 79 matches, 1850 runs, HS 101*, Ave 34.25, SR 138.78, 1×100, 9×50.

Chris Morris – Bangalore Royal Challengers

Under-rated by the Proteas selectors, Morris was one of the top-earning players at the last IPL auction as the Royal Challengers bought him for nearly R22 million, having been a key performer for the Delhi Daredevils. Only picked for last year’s World Cup squad as a late replacement, Morris had a good tournament while most of his team-mates floundered, and the 33-year-old will want to continue to show he can be a matchwinner on the international stage. As an all-rounder Morris has the ability to really hurt the opposition: bowling at good pace with swing and excellent use of the yorker, he can run through batting line-ups or pick up crucial wickets at the death, and as a batsman, he really tees the ball up and is one of the longest hitters in the game.

IPL career: 61 matches, 517 runs, HS 82*, Ave 27.21, SR 157.62, 2×50; 69 wkts @ 24.76, Econ 7.98, BB 4-23, 4i x2.

Lungi Ngidi – Chennai Super Kings

Ngidi has been retained by Chennai despite missing the whole of last year’s campaign due to injury. The 24-year-old fast bowler will be hoping he sets the cats amongst the pigeons again like he did in 2018 when he played a crucial role in the Super Kings winning their third title and was the second-most economical bowler in the competition.

Of brisk pace and gaining unsettling bounce, Ngidi is also bringing ever-increasing skill levels to his game and has shown his ability to keep his cool under pressure with matchwinning white-ball performances for the Proteas.

IPL career: 7 matches, 0 runs, HS 0*; 11 wkts @ 14.18, Econ 6.00, BB 4-10, 4i x1

Anrich Nortje – Delhi Capitals

As far as announcements go in terms of a potential new fast bowling international star, Nortje’s last 18 months have been outstanding and to catch the eye of one of the greatest batsmen who have played the game in Delhi coach Ricky Ponting is certainly a feather in his cap.

Nortje was actually bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders last year, but was ruled out by the same fractured thumb that cost him his World Cup place. His 2020 signing followed the withdrawal of England star Chris Woakes.

Of sharp pace and ever-growing skill, Nortje’s never-say-die determination is what has marked him out as someone special in the early days of his international career.

IPL career: 0 matches.

Kagiso Rabada – Delhi Capitals

Proved an outstanding wicket-taker for Delhi in 2019, with 25 scalps in 12 matches, spearheading the Capitals’ run to the semi-finals. His workload remains something of a pet peeve though and coach Ricky Ponting must be mindful of how he manages the 25-year-old ace. Rabada was disappointingly flat at last year’s World Cup in England, which was after the IPL, and he will be eager to re-establish himself as one of the best fast bowlers in the world on an international stage.

IPL career: 18 matches, 69 runs, HS 44, Ave 11.50, SR 87.34; 31 wkts @ 17.93, Econ 8.13, BB 4-21, 4i x2.

Dale Steyn – Bangalore Royal Challengers

He may be 37-years-old and plagued by injury these days, but Steyn is still attracting the attention of the biggest T20 franchises in the world, having returned for a second stint in Bangalore. That’s because he remains one of the world’s greatest fast bowlers, a joy to watch when he is in peak rhythm, swinging the ball late at pace and showcasing all his wonderful skills. Injuries have limited his high-profile appearances in recent years, but when he has played, he has looked the part and proven a tough proposition for the best of batsmen.

IPL career: 92 matches, 166 runs, HS 19*, Ave 7.54, SR 105.06; 96 wkts @ 24.73, Econ 6.76, BB 3-8.

Imran Tahir – Chennai Super Kings

South Africa’s champion white-ball spinner depicts the passion and innovation of the IPL probably better than any other bowler. From roaring out appeals to his trademark sprint across the field whenever he takes a wicket, Tahir will be eager to show he remains, at the ripe old age of 41, one of the most highly-skilled leg-spinners around in his second season with Chennai.

IPL career: 55 matches, 20 runs, HS 5, Ave 5.00, SR 74.07; 79 wkts @ 20.39, Econ 7.88, BB 4-12, 4i x3.

Hardus Viljoen – Punjab Kings XI

Back in the red of the Kings XI for a second season, Viljoen’s fast bowling packs plenty of punch and he will be the one captain Lokesh Rahul turns to when he wants to dish out some short-pitched bowling to the opposition. Although this is T20 cricket played on flat decks, Viljoen is unlikely to shelve his aggression. He is a hard-hitting batsman who will throw the bedroom dresser at the ball, lashing a 94-ball century last season in a four-day game for the Titans.

IPL career: 6 matches, 3 runs, HS 2*, Ave 1.50, SR 42.85; 7 wkts @ 31.71, Econ 9.65, BB 2-39.