Ken Borland

Embrose Papier and Jade Stighling have been brought into the Bulls team to counter the pace of the Free State Cheetahs in Friday night’s Super Rugby Unlocked match in Bloemfontein, with Duane Vermeulen returning and Clinton Swart called up for his debut in an effort to negate the battering ram play of Francois Steyn at inside centre.

Johan Grobbelaar, starting at hooker, is the other player brought into the starting line-up which was announced on Wednesday afternoon. Coach Jake White has also shifted Cornal Hendricks from inside to outside centre and shuffled his bench with U21 star Joe van Zyl called up to cover hooker, Gerhard Steenekamp replacing injured loosehead prop Lizo Gqoboka, and Nizaam Carr coming in as the replacement loose forward instead of Elrigh Louw.

Here’s why the changes fit in specifically with the Cheetahs in mind:

Jade Stighling – White called winger Stighling “one of the quickest players in the squad” and his selection in the number 11 jersey, with the lanky and elusive David Kriel moving to right wing and Travis Ismaiel left out, is aimed to counter the Cheetahs getting too much space and time out wide.

“The Cheetahs make quite a few line-breaks and Jade has massive pace, he’s one of the quickest players in the squad. But they also concede quite a lot of line-breaks, so if we can make some then we will have the pace to get up in support and create a few nice opportunities,” White said.

Embrose Papier – While White has committed himself to rotating his two Springbok scrumhalves, he admitted Papier’s game is better suited to the pace and expansiveness of the Cheetahs.

“I always said Embrose would get game time, it’s not like he’s our No.2 scrumhalf, and he’s also one of our quickest players, which comes back to those line-breaks the Cheetahs both make and concede. I’m looking forward to seeing how he combines with that backline and Free State rely on lots of pace, so we need to see if we can counter that,” White said.

Duane Vermeulen – The looming figure of the Springbok eighthman and colossus is likely to spend plenty of time in the inside centre channel to make sure Francois Steyn’s forays end before the gain-line. Captain Vermeulen, for his part, said the swelling on his knee has gone down and he is looking forward to ensuring that the Bulls execute their plans better than they did last weekend against Griquas.

Clinton Swart – The 1.84m, 105kg Swart played under White at Toyota Verblitz and may not be a flashy centre in the mould of Cornal Hendricks, but he is very direct and ideally suited to countering the sort of game Steyn plays. He also has a very handy boot and there’s little doubt one of White’s major tactics against the Cheetahs will be to pin them in their own half and make them run from deep and he now has three accomplished kickers in Morne Steyn, Gio Aplon and Swart to achieve this.

“I know what Frans Steyn can offer and if you give him lots of gain-line then the Cheetahs will play around him, so his presence was a big influence in our selection. Clinton came from Free State so he knows them well. We’re not going to be able to get away with playing Hendricks and Gans in midfield every week and I would also like to see Cornal at outside centre – that might also be a stroke of genius and he has been running well with Clinton,” White said.

Nizaam Carr – While Elrigh Louw enjoyed himself with hall-in-hand when he came off the bench against Griquas, that role can now be fulfilled by Vermeulen. Against a team as pacy as the Cheetahs, the Bulls are going to need a more openside type flank and Carr fits the bill perfectly to come off the bench and lift the tempo.

Bulls team: Gio Aplon, David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Clinton Swart, Jade Stighling, Morné Steyn, Embrose Papier, Duane Vermeulen (C), Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Ivan van Zyl, Chris Smith, Stedman Gans.

The South African Cricketers’ Association – the players’ union – on Wednesday entreated the Cricket South Africa Board to stand down following sports minister Nathi Mthethwa’s threat to intervene in the affairs of the embattled federation due to the impasse between government and CSA.

SACA chief executive Andrew Breetzke said in a statement that the only way to end the impasse between CSA and Sascoc and the sports minister was for the Board to resign and be replaced by an interim board. He said the alternative was the International Cricket Council suspending South Africa’s membership, causing enormous disappointment and hardship for the players and the sport itself.

“SACA believes that an interim board of directors must be established to stabilise the organisation. This interim board should include a SACA player’s representative as well as a representative from the remaining stakeholders in the game (sponsors and broadcasters). Furthermore, the interim board should appoint an experienced administrator to assist in the operational work that is required at CSA, ensuring a link between the interim board and operational staff.
“Cricket is in an existential crisis, and the intervention of government will result in the ICC reviewing CSA’s position as an ICC Member, and will furthermore jeopardise the England tour scheduled for next month. Players will suffer, development will suffer and the future of the game will be prejudiced. However, as has been recognised by Department of Sports, Arts & Culture and Sascoc, the current board has no credibility to resolve the crises, and it is clear that the current impasse between government and CSA will not be resolved until such time as the board stands down. We therefore implore the CSA Board to stand down and thereby take a decision that will be in the best interests of cricket,” Breetzke said.

SACA’s position is that an interim board has to be in place first, because the current directors are unable to self-correct. The interim board will then drive the restructuring of the board to ensure it is fully compliant with the recommendations of the Nicholson Commission, which came out eight-and-a-half years ago.

“As we have stated previously, CSA is not able to self-correct, and the intervention of government is further evidence of this. The current governance structure of CSA must be reviewed, and this has been acknowledged by CSA. The interim board must facilitate the implementation of the Nicholson recommendations through amendments to the Memorandum of Incorporation, as this will allow for an effective Board of Directors to ultimately take over the responsibility of the governance of the game.

“The Fundudzi Forensic Report has identified various failures in governance, failures that have consistently been highlighted by SACA, and this is the opportunity to remedy these for the sake of the game and ensure that experienced personnel are recruited into key executive positions,” Omphile Ramela, the SACA president, said.

Like a top-class snooker player or a chess grandmaster, sports minister Nathi Mthethwa has now backed the Cricket South Africa Board into a corner from which they can only extricate themselves by acceding to his wishes.

That’s the view of former International Cricket Council and Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat following Minister Mthethwa’s announcement on Wednesday that CSA had until October 27 to give him written reasons why he should not intervene in their affairs following the continued refusal of their Board to step down.

Mthethwa has also notified the ICC of his intention to intervene, raising the possibility of CSA’s membership being suspended, which would mean the Proteas being banned from international action and domestic cricket no longer being recognised.

“It’s a terrible situation and the Board now has so much egg on their faces that they have banded together to try and protect their own interests. But I think CSA ae now snookered, they have checkmated themselves. The Minister and Sascoc have covered their bases and I suspect their legal advisors told them to be patient and follow process.

“I have been impressed by the patience and good process followed by the Minister and I think he has compared notes with Sascoc and given CSA a fair chance. CSA are members of Sascoc and Sascoc has oversight responsibility, but the arrogant Board have just refused to budge. So the Minister’s announcement is a positive step and hopefully it’s now checkmate,” Lorgat told The Citizen on Wednesday.

Lorgat was also highly critical of the CSA Board’s attempt to take on Mthethwa, as revealed by the letters between the two parties published by The Citizen on Wednesday morning [https://citizen.co.za/sport/south-african-sport/sa-cricket-sport/2370372/more-woes-for-crickets-embattled-williams-as-minister-mthethwa-cracks-the-whip/].

“I have never seen this level of digging in heels before in South African sport. You may win one battle against the Minister of Sport but you are never going to win the war. Show me one stakeholder other than the 12 in the CSA Boardroom who support CSA’s stance? There’s no doubt the Minister has popular support for his actions,” Lorgat said.

The seasoned administrator, who this week was appointed director of strategy and development for the Abu Dhabi T10 League, said it was not guaranteed, however, that the ICC were going to automatically suspend CSA if Mthethwa does formally intervene in their affairs.

“In terms of the ICC, there’s a difference between interference and intervention. If there’s a family and there’s a tiff here and there, that’s normal in a marriage and the sports minister stepping in would be tantamount to interference. But if there’s a family and the father is going off the rails, if the kids are getting hurt or someone’s going to get murdered, then good people are going to intervene.

“I think the ICC may see this as a necessary intervention. A previous example was India when their Supreme Court ran a committee of administrators for three years in order to reform the BCCI and get it away from the likes of the Srinivasans. They were not suspended because a proper process was followed and cricket supporters and stakeholders are entitled to proper administration,” Lorgat explained.

What will happen if the ICC do decide to suspend Cricket South Africa?

• Firstly, they will write to the Minister of Sport telling him not to intervene or CSA will be suspended;
• If the Minister continues with his intervention, the ICC will then suspend CSA and stop all funding to them, as well as halt all recognised cricket, including the Proteas and domestic teams. Any cricket in South Africa will be deemed unsanctioned cricket, plunging the country back into isolation and expunging any games played during this period from the record books;
• England’s proposed white-ball tour in November/December will be cancelled, meaning CSA will lose around R70 million, a much-needed boost for their embattled finances;
• Zimbabwe were suspended by the ICC in mid-2019 due to political interference, meaning they missed qualifying for the World T20. The suspension was lifted three months later when Zimbabwe’s sport minister reinstated the ZC Board.
• A three-month suspension would decimate the South African season, putting paid to proposed series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and causing catastrophic damage to CSA’s already parlous financial situation.

A hard-hitting letter from Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa to Beresford Williams probably ices the cake in terms of sealing the fate of Cricket South Africa’s acting president, who has indicated his desire to stand for the permanent position at the AGM on December 5.

Williams was told by parliament’s sports portfolio committee to recuse himself from Tuesday’s hearing with CSA because he is implicated in the Fundudzi Forensic Report, not only for his involvement in a R5 million loan to the Western Province Cricket Association that he was formerly president of, but also being on the Board committee who appointed Thabang Moroe as full-time CEO in 2018 after he had been acting for a year despite him not meeting the minimum requirements for the post.

But Williams’ shares have fallen even further with the leaking of a letter from sports minister Mthethwa, who is clearly adamantly against Williams continuing as president. Replying to a letter from CSA, signed by Williams, which states that the CSA Board have decided not to step down and told Mthethwa he did not have the legal power to force them, the sports minister threatened: “As a parting shot, I wish to reiterate that I shall not be dissuaded from applying what the National Sport and Recreation Act 110 of 1998 enjoins me to do”.

The Mthethwa letter begins: “I note that instead of accurately depicting what was said at the meeting we had on 6 October, you have taken the liberty to put words into my mouth. To that end, I will use my response to correct some of the inaccuracies that are evident in your letter”.

Mthethwa went on to say he did not provide the directive for Williams and the Board to step down, but instead was agreeing with Sascoc’s call for this to happen.

“In addition to the National  Sport and Recreation Act 110 of 1998 you seem to selectively quote from, to show that I do not have the power to intervene, you are kindly reminded that as a sovereign country in which I am the Minister responsible for Sport, Arts and Culture, there is a raft of laws at my disposal, that empower me to deal effectively with recalcitrant behaviour within my portfolio,” Mthethwa stated.

The four main outcomes Mthethwa wants to see, according to his letter, are the full implementation of the Nicholson Commission recommendations, the appointment of a new, stable Board, effective transformation and the correct handling of the Fundudzi Forensic Report.

Apart from telling Mthethwa he did not have the power to force the Board to step down, CSA also said they viewed his intervention as government interference which probably “jeopardises CSA’s continued membership of the ICC”.

The bad news for CSA and Williams is that Mthethwa has the power to no longer recognise them as a national federation, thereby making their membership of the International Cricket Council moot in any case.