Ken Borland

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have had their peculiar financial arrangements exposed during the Nicholson Inquiry, but their ability to make sound cricketing decisions has now been questioned by one of the most respected players in the country.

Boeta Dippenaar retires from cricket today and, even though his feet may no longer move as assuredly as he would like, his brain remains as sharp as ever and is one of the reasons he is the president of the South African Cricketers’ Association.

Speaking in his personal capacity, Dippenaar told City Press he was concerned by CSA’s plans to include 12 teams in the franchise system instead of the current six. Instead of lifting the overall quality of domestic cricket, Dippenaar says this will weaken the game in South Africa and, as a consequence, weaken the national team.

“The domestic structure is incredibly important for the national team, but it will only reflect four or five years later.

“There are players missing out on franchise cricket and how do we make sure that those good enough to play get the opportunity? “I have no doubt that there’s place for an eighth team, but there’s no way there are enough high-quality players for 12 teams in the elite system,” Dippenaar said.

It will be up to the CSA board to vote on the 12-team suggestion. Herein lies the problem: the board comprises 11 provinces, all acting in their own narrow interests.

“If eight teams is correct, how do we get there? Griquas won’t allow North-West to have a franchise if they don’t have one and Boland won’t allow Border to have one if they don’t. It will require turkeys voting for Christmas,” Dippenaar said.

It is a problem that Australian cricket and, right now, the International Cricket Council (ICC), have wrestled with.

“When the franchise system came in here, CSA said it was what Australia were doing, but a lot of aspects were left out. We must remember that Australia has a population of about 22 million, while we have 50 million people.

“The Lord Woolf report was commissioned by the ICC and it clearly outlines that cricket’s governance is not in favour of the game but is rather a political structure.

“It’s no longer an amateur game but we have clubs electing people to run it. Does that serve the interests of the game? Anyone who can put two-and-two together can see that it doesn’t,” Dippenaar said.

For an illustration of the strength of cricket played outside the six franchises, take the example of Dippenaar’s Chevrolet Knights team-mate, Aubrey Swanepoel: He is the leading run-scorer in the CSA Provincial Challenge with 721 at an average of 72.10. But in his first three SuperSport Series innings, he managed just five runs.

Coach Gary Kirsten is sure his team has the skill and talent to win anywhere in the world but believes the team’s tour of New Zealand will provide the South Africans with a stiff challenge.

“I believe we have a quality team that has enough skill and talent to confront any conditions. It’s our responsibility to do well around the world in any conditions. It is important if we want to be a champion team to win series in all formats of the game, all over the world,” Kirsten said at O.R. Tambo International Airport on Friday, just prior to the team’s departure for New Zealand.

“But New Zealand aren’t easy to beat at home, they are streetsmart and they understand their conditions, and it’s going to be a very competitive series. We need to stack up performances, to play well consistently, that’s our focus.”

Kirsten is acutely aware that, in terms of his team’s worthiness to be rated the best in the world, they have to perform consistently overseas as well and, what doesn’t come out in the wash in New Zealand is bound to come out in the rinse in England.

“We’ve set long-term goals and being number one is part of that. And this tour is also important for our tour to England. It will be more of the same over there, so this tour is not a standalone. Consistency is not just suddenly going to come right – it’s a process that takes time,” Kirsten said.

The seven-week tour is also a momentous occasion for AB de Villiers because he is captaining South Africa for the first time on tour. The 27-year-old sees the tour as an ideal opportunity for some team-spirit to grow.

“I’m very excited because it’s my first tour as captain and it means we’ll get the chance to get some team-spirit going. It’s tough doing that at home because everything’s quite disjointed. On tour, there’s nothing else for you to do but be with your team-mates.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster against Sri Lanka and I learnt a few lessons. I enjoy being positive, but it didn’t always come off. But I thought the guys responded well to my leadership and it was a step in the right direction for me,” De Villiers said.

Kirsten added that it will be important for the team to acclimatise to the different conditions in New Zealand.

“We’re purposefully going a bit earlier than usual because the guys need a lot of time in the nets. They need time to get used to the pace and bounce, and we’ll have five full days for practice. It is different over there, even the weather – the warmest it gets is about 21 degrees. We need six or seven days to acclimatise because there’s also the jetlag to get over,” Kirsten said.

For the South Africans, there is also the small matter of revenge after New Zealand knocked them out of the World Cup in their ill-tempered last meeting.