Ken Borland

The board of Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday suspended chief executive Gerald Majola pending an independent disciplinary inquiry and agreed to follow the recommendations of the Nicholson Inquiry into the bonus scandal that has engulfed the administration of the game in the republic.

The Nicholson Inquiry, appointed by sports minister Fikile Mbalula, found that Majola had “surreptitiously” received R1.8 million in unauthorised bonuses, as well as irregular travel expenses, in contravention of the Companies Act.

Majola had initially been cleared of any serious wrongdoing by a CSA inquiry headed by acting president AK Khan, who has since resigned.

“The board of directors of CSA considered the recommendations of the Nicholson Committee of Inquiry and, after lengthy deliberations, have resolved to rescind all the findings of the Khan commission and to suspend Majola with immediate effect pending a disciplinary inquiry,” board member Oupa Nkagisang told a news conference in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The CSA board also elected a new acting president to replace Khan in experienced administrator and transformation committee chairman Willie Basson, while Jacques Faul of the North-West province has been appointed acting CEO.

Judge Chris Nicholson had announced on March 9 that Majola should face an independent disciplinary inquiry as well as possible criminal charges. Former ICC president Ray Mali, who chaired Saturday’s CSA meeting, confirmed that outside experts would handle Majola’s disciplinary process.

“We will have to get eminent people, reputable people, so that there are no comebacks. The board will meet on March 30 to decide who will head the disciplinary inquiry, but it has to be an independent person,” Mali said.

Mali said the board had considered dissolving itself.

“The entire issue of dissolving the board did come up, but that can only be decided by the affiliates and provinces. The board also discussed the New Zealand and Australian models of corporate governance and the Lord Woolf document that is at the ICC, but we have to engage the affiliates and outside stakeholders about that. It’s not just a CSA matter.”

The CSA board stopped short of issuing an apology for their backing of Majola, despite Mbalula making a suggestion on Friday that they should all stand down because they have lost the respect of the South African public.

When asked if the CSA board were apologetic, Mali said: “If the spirit of cricket is not there, then it is not palatable, and it has not been there for the last two years. Cricket needs gentlemen and ladies, people who are above board, but things have not gone well.

“The steps we took were based on the recommendations of people we believe were properly qualified – accountants and lawyers,” Mali said.

The BidVest Wanderers pitch is dangerous and unplayable, so the umpires have abandoned the MiWay T20 Challenge match between the bizhub Highveld Lions and Sunfoil Dolphins in Johannesburg on Friday.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120316/LionsDolphins_match_abandoned

Reserve umpire Dennis Smith told SuperSport.com that the pitch was still too wet after two days of rain and the process of sweating under the covers. Dangerous divots were being formed where the ball pitched and a number of deliveries had already spat up viciously or come slowly off the surface.

The Lions had made their way to 24 for two in six overs after being sent in to bat when umpires Murray Brown, Adrian Holdstock and Smith abandoned the match.

Jonathan Vandiar (6) had skied a pull off Fidel Edwards high to deep mid-on, where Robbie Frylinck took a well-judged catch.

Quinton de Kock scored two before he tried to push Frylinck away on the leg-side, but the ball got stuck in the pitch, the batsman being far too early on the shot, and the ball came off the back of the bat and looped high to deep backward point.

Gulam Bodi was not out on 10 and Neil McKenzie had yet to face a ball when the umpires, their chief concern being the safety of the players on a thoroughly unpredictable surface, called the match off.

The No Result continues the unbelievably wretched luck of the Dolphins, who had four successive games washed out and then lost their previous outing against the Chevrolet Knights when rain intervened.

The two teams will earn two points each, which means the Lions will have to lose their last league fixture, against the New Age Impi in Benoni on Wednesday, and the Knights or Titans record two bonus-point victories for them to be overtaken at the top of the log.

It was no surprise to Dolphins coach Lance Klusener on Thursday when he arrived in Johannesburg and saw the rain that has all but vanquished his team’s MiWay T20 Challenge hopes had followed them up to the Highveld.

Klusener’s side are in Johannesburg to take on the powerful Highveld Lions in Johannesburg on Friday and have to win with a bonus point and hope other results go their way to maintain their interest in the playoffs.

The coach was accompanied to Gauteng by the same squad that lost on Wednesday night to the Knights by just eight runs after rain intervened and the Duckworth/Lewis calculations failed to favour the Dolphins.

That followed a run of four consecutive wash-outs, but Klusener was philosophical as he surveyed the soggy view outside his Johannesburg hotel window on Thursday.

“We’re pretty much stuffed, we can’t fight the umpires, the opposition and then the weather on top of all that! I think we had the run-chase set up against the Knights but the rain swirled around and came back, which was unfortunate.

“But we’ll come out smoking against the Lions and we need to pursue whatever slim chances we have to make the playoffs,” Klusener told The Witness.

Klusener said the Dolphins’ work in the field against the Knights had pleased him, especially the fine debut made by Prenelan Subrayen, who took two for 13 in four excellent overs of off-spin.

“I’m very happy for him because he’s travelled around with us for a while without getting a game. We did really well in the field, especially after the start the Knights made.”

The Lions are comfortably on top of the log after winning seven of their 10 matches and one of the keys to beating them will be to take regular wickets against an in-form top-order that has seen Quinton de Kock, Neil McKenzie, Gulam Bodi and Jonathan Vandiar all shining with the bat.

But the Dolphins will firstly be looking to solve their own top-order batting woes, with a good start being essential against an attack that boasts the leading wicket-taker in Chris Morris and two threatening left-arm fast bowlers in Australian Dirk Nannes and Pakistan’s Sohail Tanveer.

Dolphins squad – Loots Bosman, Cameron Delport, Imraan Khan, Cody Chetty, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, David Miller, Daryn Smit (wk), Kyle Abbott, Robbie Frylinck, Prenelan Subrayen, Fidel Edwards, Mthokozisi Shezi, Ahmed Amla.