Ken Borland

 

What was once a beautiful pristine body of water is now over-run by toxic algae, but looking upwards is always rewarding when one is birding in the Hartebeestpoort Dam area.

That’s because the Magaliesberg Mountains surround the dam and, with diverse woodland and thornveld around its shores, Harties is always good for raptors.

The Oberon Resort, now known as Eagle Waters, is expensive for a day visit, but you can drive around the shore for some way as well as walk in the woodland.

It was while I was walking, away from the dam and towards the Magaliesberg that a buzzard came flying over and hovered kindly just about right above me. The barred tail and the chocolate-brown stripes on the belly were distinctive and I had my second Honey Buzzard sighting!

Straight afterwards, a Cape Vulture was soaring imperiously high above the hills, obviously a member of the nearby Skeerpoort colony.

Whitebrowed Sparrow Weavers, those denizens of the arid west, bouncing around at the entrance suggested it would be a good morning and there were certainly plenty of birds about, in between the Plains Zebra and Blesbok that serenely wander around, despite the disgusting efforts of some visitors to hunt them.

The water was busy too, with Reed and Whitebreasted Cormorants, Cattle Egret, Egyptian Goose, Redknobbed Coot, Sacred Ibis, Cape Wagtail, African Darter, Yellowbilled Duck, Greyheaded Gull and Whitewinged Tern all dashing about.

Spotted Dikkop were resting in the patches of longer grass on the stony ground, while a solitary Glossy Ibis was a surprise sighting flying over the dam.

After driving as far as I could go, I parked in one of the little fishing spots next to the water and set off on foot. A Blackcollared Barbet was trying to eat a large beetle, while a male Whitewinged Widow was making his presence known as well.

A Cinnamonbreasted Bunting flew up off the road on my way back to the car, where Yellowfronted Canary came to visit and feast on the many grass seeds that were available.

By then my second Honey Buzzard sighting was marked down, but clearly one of the local wasps decided he/she had to keep ahead of that landmark by inflicting only my third ever wasp sting!

I was stalking some birds in a little copse of trees near the campsite, where there is more thornveld as compared to the woodland on the eastern side of the resort, when I trod on a fallen branch, which rotated under my boot, obviously disturbing the wasp. I heard a buzzing, felt something on my neck and then was stung painfully!

I soldiered on, however, and was just thinking how the short grass with nearby trees was the perfect habitat for African Hoopoe when two flew up just ahead of me.

Even better, along the fence of the camping site, in some long grass, were a family of Blackthroated Canaries. Beyond the campsite is some even wilder grassy areas and these produced Fantailed Cisticola.

From Eagle Waters I drove to Magaliespark, where I was let in without any hassle after saying “I was told I can have lunch here.”

This beautiful resort is superbly set up and provides more lush vegetation as well as access to the Magalies River inlet to the dam.

A Common Moorhen was grooming itself contentedly in one of the water features, while I was surprised to see a group of Arrowmarked Babbler in thick, almost forest-like vegetation around the chalets.

The bird hide is really just an open lapa on the shore, but it provides a good view of one of the waterways and Whitethroated Swallow, Whitefaced Duck and Palm Swift were all zooming around.

A Rock Pigeon was my farewell bird as it chilled out on the stoep of one of the chalets, a foretaste of what was to come as I then went to the dam wall, where flocks of European Swallow and Rock Martin produce a swirling mass of birds just above the tunnel crossing, with the occasional Redwinged Starling flying about too.

 

Sightings list

Oberon

Crowned Plover

Whitebrowed Sparrow Weaver

Greater Striped Swallow

Plains Zebra

Blesbok

Blackeyed Bulbul

Lesser Striped Swallow

Reed Cormorant

Whitebreasted Cormorant

Cattle Egret

Egyptian Goose

Redknobbed Coot

European Swallow

Sacred Ibis

Cape Wagtail

Common Myna

Blacksmith Plover

Crested Barbet

House Martin

African Darter

Spotted Dikkop

Southern Masked Weaver

Yellowbilled Duck

Glossy Ibis

Greyheaded Gull

Grey Heron

Whitewinged Tern

Fiscal Shrike

Laughing Dove

Southern Red Bishop

Whitewinged Widow

Blackcollared Barbet

Tawnyflanked Prinia

European Honey Buzzard

Cape Vulture

Cinnamonbreasted Rock Bunting

Hadeda Ibis

Black Sunbird

Yellowfronted Canary

Spotted Flycatcher

Southern Greyheaded Sparrow

African Hoopoe

Kurrichane Thrush

Blackthroated Canary

Cape White-Eye

Fantailed Cisticola

Forktailed Drongo

Blue Waxbill

 

Magaliespark

Common Moorhen

Arrowmarked Babbler

Streakyheaded Canary

Whitethroated Swallow

Whitefaced Duck

Palm Swift

Grey Lourie

Rock Pigeon

 

Dam wall

Rock Martin

Redwinged Starling

Redeyed Dove

 

 

 

The Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) have announced a schedule of 16 matches for their top players between next weekend and July 20 in what will be called the Lions Challenge.

Following their controversial relegation from SuperRugby last year, the Johannesburg-based franchise have organised matches against international teams like Russia and Samoa, a three-week tour of North America, five games against top French opposition and fixtures against all five South African SuperRugby teams.

Lions supporters will have 12 matches, including a promotion/relegation game on August 3, to look forward to at Ellis Park.

“We took major umbrage to the decision made in Cape Town last year to relegate us and the easy route would have been to play the blame game and look for scapegoats. But we have decided to get on with the rugby and ensure we continue to serve our stakeholders. It will be important to do well in the Lions Challenge, but everyone must focus on taking on the team that finishes last in SuperRugby at the end of it,” GLRU president Kevin de Klerk said at the launch of the series at Ellis Park on Thursday.

While the Lions have been forced to loan out star players like Elton Jantjies, Franco van der Merwe, Jaco Taute and Lionel Mapoe, they are confident the Lions Challenge will provide enough of an incentive for the rest of their squad to remain with them this year.

“To try and fit in a new competition when rugby is played somewhere in the world from January 1 to December 31 was very challenging, but if we had just set up a series of friendlies then half our players would not be here by the time the promotion/relegation game comes along. The players want to test themselves against the best and commercially it is very important so we can retain our players,” acting CEO Ruben Moggee said.

The Russian national squad, with 49 players and management, are currently in Gauteng and will be the Lions’ first opponents, at 7pm on January 19.

Coach Johan Ackermann’s other international opposition will be on June 1 against Samoa, who will be in the country preparing for their quadrangular tournament against the Springboks, Scotland and Italy.

French powerhouses Montpellier and Grenoble, who are in contention for the Top 14 semi-finals, will visit in July.

The Lions will also play the Cheetahs, Bulls and Kings in the build-up to this year’s SuperRugby competition, and the Stormers and Sharks during the June break.

“There’s no doubt that we won’t be treating these as friendlies, the team know that already. We’re going to be in competition mode, it is about earning back the respect we deserve and we will prepare for it as for any other SuperRugby season, the conditioning and tactics will be done in that same way.

“I hope the attitudes, heart and passion are at that same level because our one common goal is to win back promotion into SuperRugby,” Ackermann said.

Fixtures: January 19 – v Russia (Ellis Park); January 26 – v Cheetahs (Ellis Park); February 2 – v Bulls (Orlando Stadium); February 9 – v Kings (Ellis Park); February 23 – v Namibia (Windhoek); March 16 – v Mont de Marsan (Ellis Park); April 13 – v U.S. Invitational (Irvine); April 20 – v North American Barbarians (Vancouver); April 27 – v Chicago Lions (Chicago); May 11 – v Agen (Ellis Park); June 1 – v Samoa (Ellis Park); June 8 – v French Barbarians (Ellis Park); June 15 – v Stormers (Ellis Park); June 21 – v Sharks (Ellis Park); July 12 – v Montpellier (Ellis Park); July 20 – v Grenoble (Ellis Park); July 27 – SuperRugby promotion/relegation (away); August 3 – SuperRugby promotion/relegation (Ellis Park).

 

It seems the administrators on Cricket South Africa’s board have been involved in the wrong sport all these years. Given how capable they are of back-flipping and bending over backwards to Olympian proportions, gymnastics would seem to be a much better option for them.

Wednesday’s special general meeting in Johannesburg saw them agree to comply with the view of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee that sport should be run by “sportspeople”. Or, to put it in plainer English, by amateur administrators who have thus far generally shown more talent for feasting on the gravy-train than for delivering excellence on the field.

Despite cricket now being a multi-million rand enterprise in which administrators are expected to understand the complexities of corporate law as well as broadcasting rights, player contracts and the marketing of the game, CSA’s restructured board will once again be dominated by non-independent directors, voted in by the provinces, in direct contradiction of the recommendations made by the Nicholson Inquiry after the ruling body had mired itself in all sorts of trouble and humiliation due to their poor governance, led by the shenanigans of their CEO, Gerald Majola.

Sascoc says amateurs running the game is the way to go, despite their own appalling record in terms of delivering sporting success, and the amateurs sitting on the CSA board have agreed, marking a 180 degree flip from their assurances last year that they would follow the recommendations of Judge Chris Nicholson, thus restoring public and sponsor confidence.

“The restructured board will comprise five independent directors and seven non-independent directors for a period of 18 months following the AGM on 2 February. The seven non-independent directors will come from the ranks of the presidents of the affiliates.

“As proposed in the King III report on corporate governance, a lead independent director will be elected to act as a guide for the chairperson of the board. The president of CSA will act as the chairperson of the board.

“The president will have ultimate authority, without question, as recommended by King III and Sascoc is adamant about that as well. The independent, lead director is appointed in case there is conflict between the president and the board.

“Of course we are not entirely happy with this, our goal was to have a 5-5 split of directors, but as a member of Sascoc we have to fulfil their criteria and they are very clear about that,” acting CSA president Willie Basson said after the meeting at OR Tambo International Airport.

But for those who are dismayed that the non-independent, amateur brigade will still be in the majority on the CSA board, it gets worse.

CSA’s press release on the outcomes of the meeting says: “After a period of 18 months the board will be increased to comprise seven independent members and nine geopolitical non-independent representatives”.

Board meetings will now be as crowded as a Cape Town beach at the end of the year and Nicholson’s suggestion that the administration be streamlined and headed by captains of industry and the best legal and marketing minds has been thrown out of the window.

Sascoc is also now forcing CSA to follow its dysfunctional model of everyone and their cousin getting seats on the gravy train. Instead of concentrating on delivering results, Sascoc has a history of administrators going to town and enjoying the new riches and prestige being involved in sport offers in the age of professionalism.

Sascoc’s model also stipulates that all nine of the country’s provinces must have seats at the top table, meaning the likes of Mpumalanga and Limpopo will have the same say as the six professional franchises.

Fortunately for their own sanity, Basson and gatvol acting chief executive Jacques Faul will no longer be around to preside over this bloated administration as both will step down at the AGM now scheduled for 2 February.

There had been suggestions that Basson would not even get to chair Wednesday’s meeting after allegations surfaced that he had been involved in chemical warfare projects during the Apartheid era.

But the transformation guru had his explanation down pat and the board have agreed that he will continue to act as president until the AGM.

“I will carry on until the AGM having explained myself for the umpteenth time to the board and they accepted my explanation. It’s very simple: I had been involved for two years in the 1980s with the defensive side of chemical research and since just before 1994 in exactly the same area for the present government structures,” Basson said.

Convenor of selectors Andrew Hudson was another who agreed (as if he had a choice!) to chat to the board on Wednesday, with the selectors’ handling of wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile being the key issue.

While many would wish for a specialist gloveman and useful batsman being in the Test team to lessen the load on AB de Villiers, Hudson apparently explained that De Villiers was more valuable to the team playing as a wicketkeeper/batsman.

The push for better Black African representation in the national team is only going to get stronger, though, and Basson said his board wanted the situation to improve.

“The target at the moment is four blacks [players of colour] for franchise and national teams, but a stipulation for Black Africans will be coming as part of the strategy of the transformation committee,” Basson said.

A Black African member of the national selection panel is also a firm possibility.

Basson acknowledged that more needed to be done to ensure a greater number of Black Africans were featuring in top-class cricket, but he said this had to be part of “a natural, bottom-upwards process”.

“Transformation at school and club level is far advanced – more than 60% of players are black at those levels. Transformation is still in progress at national level, and our efforts have been recognised by the minister of sport.

“But we’re now looking at three levels of transformation because they all have different requirements – national teams, franchises and schools and clubs. A pipeline needs to flow in a natural, bottom-upwards process,” Basson explained.

While Hudson must have left the airport in sheepish fashion, the gall of the CSA board remains untouched.

How dare it ignore the findings of a judge appointed by the sports minister?

The answer is simple: Sascoc, not wanting its own chaotic, amateurish administration to be shown up by a professionally-run major sport, have suppressed chances of progress in cricket safe in the knowledge that it is politically in the right camp after Mangaung.

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, who has tirelessly pushed for change in cricket, is however surely on the way out after taking on President Jacob Zuma’s camp and losing.

The lil’ men with big appetites on the CSA board know that in a short while, nobody will be watching them anymore and they can return to the life of luxury they enjoyed in the Majola days.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-01-10-cricket-sa-bosses-nicholson-who