Ken Borland

The players, through their union, the South African Cricketers Association, have now had their say in the governance crisis in South African cricket and have questioned whether the Members Council is acting in the best interests of the game.

Cricket South Africa stands on the brink of no longer being recognised by the Minister of Sport and therefore unable to represent the country internationally, after the events of the Special General Meeting last weekend in which the Members Council refused to ratify the proposed amendments to the constitution that would have ushered in a more independent board of directors.

SACA accused the Members Council of acting in bad faith.

“We respect the fact that the Minister has shown great patience in dealing with the governance crisis, and the events as they unfolded at the Special General Meeting of 17 April 2021, were in bad faith and disrespectful not only to his office, but to all cricketers and the public. Government intervention in the sport will have dire consequences, the full extent of which we do not yet know.

“The right to represent South Africa may be withdrawn and the ICC may suspend Cricket South Africa. These outcomes will in turn impact touring, broadcast rights and sponsorship deals. Ultimately the financial viability of the game will suffer and cricket at all levels will be severely prejudiced. The Members’ Council has now acted contrary to the wishes of the Minister, the Nicholson Recommendations, King IV Governance principles, and international best practice – how can this be in the best interests of our game?,” SACA said in a statement released on Monday night and signed by national captains Temba Bavuma, Dane van Niekerk and Dean Elgar.

SACA pointed out that these events will be particularly injurious to the women’s game in South Africa. The last 14 months have been smooth sailing for the Proteas Women, as they have reached career-high rankings in the sport. But all their had work will be undone if CSA aquaplane out of control and drive cricket off a bridge.

“The Momentum Proteas Women’s team has enjoyed unparalleled success over the past 14 months, and the women’s game in South Africa is on the verge of significant expansion. The development of the game is now under serious threat, and at a time when we should be enthusiastic about the future, we have to be concerned about its future.
“The Proteas Men’s team has an ICC World T20 Event in November. Preparation has already started for this event, and the current state of cricket administration undermines our work in this regard. It may even lead to our suspension from this event should the ICC decide to suspend South Africa. To the sponsors, we apologise for the actions of our administrators who have undermined and betrayed your commitment to the sport,” the statement says.

No real Proteas fan likes it when they lose and it gets even more frustrating when it seems like the obvious best available XI is not out on the field, but what’s even more infuriating is when people rage against the coach with all sorts of bizarre conspiracy theories about personal grudges and the like.

The latest thing that Mark Boucher has done to enrage the critics – most of whom seem to reside in the Cape – is to not choose Kyle Verreynne, Western Province’s exciting wicketkeeper/batsman, for the T20 starting XI against Pakistan.

The cricketing reason behind that decision – which is not just made by Boucher on his own but in consultation with three other selectors – is that South Africa have decided to follow the example set by the high-flying English team and play a much more aggressive brand of T20 cricket.

So of the batsmen in the squad for the Pakistan series, Verreynne has the lowest strike-rate in terms of his T20 career – 123.18 – which is why he was chosen as back-up wicketkeeper to captain Heinrich Klaasen. The only other batsman with a career strike-rate below what is now considered the benchmark of 130 is Aiden Markram on 126.76. Which is why he was not originally chosen, but only played because of injuries to Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen. And Markram has since been scoring at a rate of 180.64 in the series, looking a batsman transformed.

Hopefully these facts will act as a plunger to unblock the pipes of the current commentary around the team, the discourse being clogged up by execrable suggestions that Boucher is somehow anti Cape Cobras players and is deliberately favouring those from the Titans, the team he coached up until December 2019.

Verreynne has not been chosen because there are better options to bring the sort of long-handled hitting the Proteas require in the middle-order, it’s as simple as that. No, it has nothing to do with some grudge Boucher is alleged to have against Cobras coach Ashwell Prince, as one particularly obsequious Cape Town hack suggested this week.

It seems the fact that the Cobras last won a trophy in 2014/15 and have not beaten the Titans in any format since April 2019 has made some people ugly.

While I would personally give Verreynne a go in place of Pite van Biljon, given how well he batted in the last ODI, there is another change that needs to be made if the current Proteas XI is to meet its full potential.

The race targets in place for the national side were meant to help the development pipeline, but instead they seem to have tarred Andile Phehlukwayo with the disgraceful tag of being a quota player. He is way too good a cricketer for that to be acceptable, but when he bats seven and does not bowl, one can see why the whispers emerge.

Phehlukwayo is a talented all-rounder who began to find some form with the bat in the ODI series, while also being a stalwart of the white-ball attack. What is he doing in the team now though if he is not bowling? This is when selection starts to become a box-ticking, target-pleasing exercise.

And it’s not Boucher nor the selectors who should take the blame for this. Knowing the Cricket South Africa Members Council, they are way more likely to fire people over missed targets than actual results on the field of play, so one can’t blame the Proteas for sticking to those quotas even when it doesn’t make cricketing sense.

So when Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, the ombudsman of the new Social Justice and Nation-Building Commission, said last week that he would like to see CSA hold a transformation conference in July to discuss some of his findings, I immediately thought that would be a good time for the whole targets/quotas issue to be discussed.

And it is not the White former beneficiaries of Apartheid who should be involved in that conversation, but the Black players and coaches who have to deal with targets now that should plot the way forward.

*All stats from before the last T20 International on Friday evening.

Loftus Versfeld is a crucible refining some of the best young talent in South African rugby at the moment and David Kriel and Madosh Tambwe are two of the standout prospects.

They spoke on Wednesday about what they have enjoyed most about their time with the Bulls.

David Kriel

The 22-year-old fullback said he has especially enjoyed not being under pressure to produce dazzling rugby in a backline full of Sevens stars. Kriel has impressed with his mature, composed performances at fullback in his first full season of senior rugby.

“You have to trust the timing of your selection and I’ve just tried to be composed. A lot of youngsters feel they have to come in and take the spotlight, say ‘look at me now’. But I’ve been able to just do what I know I can do and what the team has needed. I’ve always been maybe a bit more composed since my school days, and now having a mentor like Gio Aplon here helps a lot.

“Coach Jake also knows his stuff and being as versatile as possible is a big advantage. It’s going to be an entirely different experience in Europe and we don’t know how the rugby will compare. But we trust management and we feel ready for what is coming. Conditions will play a big role and we will just stay with what we have established this year,” Kriel said.

Madosh Tambwe

The 23-year-old wing joined the Bulls a month ago, having spent three years at the Lions and then 2020 at the Sharks. His arrival in Pretoria has seen him reunited with Joey Mongalo, his Lions mentor who is now the Bulls’ defence coach. But the Kinshasa-born Parktown product is clearly not at Loftus for a holiday.

“To work with coaches like Jake White and Chris Rossouw is really tremendous and Joey Mongalo again. I met Joey when I was U15 and he was the head coach of the Lions Invitational team, Hacjivah Dayimani played too and I managed to get a scholarship to Parktown. Joey was the one who said to me I should see how far I can go and by Lions U19 I had already decided to make rugby my career.

“I had personal reasons for coming up here from the Sharks, but rugby-wise it also made a lot of sense. It’s something to cherish, not everyone gets to work with the sort of talent that is here and I just try to put my hand up and contribute to the team. I just want to find my feet here and be a regular starter, I know what it takes. I’m just trying to be professional and a great team guy,” Tambwe said.

Dominic Hendricks fell one short of a brilliant century as he was the Imperial Lions batsman who best defied an accurate Titans attack on the first day of their 4-Day Domestic Series match at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

Having won the toss and elected to bat, the Lions were bowled out for just 206, a moderate total when they would have been aiming for much higher. But it may yet prove to be a competitive score as the Wanderers pitch proved lively all day with good bounce and both swing and seam on offer.

Opener Hendricks was the one batsman to prosper though as the compact left-hander spent a single-minded 224 minutes at the crease, before Okuhle Cele zeroed in and trapped him lbw for 99.

The left-handed Hendricks was beaten as he tried to on-drive an inswinger, which left captain Nicky van den Bergh (41) to try and bolster the rest of the innings.

Van den Bergh was unfortunate to be run out at the bowler’s end when Williams could not hold a return catch from a fierce Kagiso Rabada straight drive, but the ball rebounded on to the stumps.

Williams, who bowled a disciplined line just outside off stump, then zipped through the tail to finish with three for 54 in 17 overs, while there were two wickets apiece for Dayyaan Galiem and Cele as all the Titans seamers impressed.

The Titans then had to weather 70 minutes of ferocious fast bowling that conjured up memories of some of the great pace attacks that have enjoyed bowling at the Wanderers, reaching 45 for one when bad light stopped play.

Aiden Markram was on 23 not out, but Dean Elgar was dismissed for two by Rabada, Temba Bavuma taking a superb catch, running back from mid-off and diving.

*The Dolphins, chasing a place in the final from Pool A, were able to bully the Warriors on the first day at St George’s Park.

The Dolphins attack, led by paceman Eathan Bosch (13-5-18-3), bundled the Warriors out for just 124 and the visitors then reached 67 for two at stumps.

*The Knights, the other Pool A team in contention, found the going tough at Newlands, despite winning the toss and batting against the Cape Cobras.

The Knights slumped to 36 for four and then 112 for eight after Raynard van Tonder’s 47, before some crucial late runs by tailenders Duan Jansen (23) and Alfred Mothoa (34) lifted them to 181.

Cobras new-ball bowlers Nandre Burger and Tshepo Moreki enjoyed the moist conditions as they took four wickets apiece.

Jansen did take an early wicket for the Knights, but Pieter Malan (51*) and Zubayr Hamza (29*) then added 73 to take the Cobras to 84 for one at stumps.