Ken Borland

The Proteas may be performing at a renewed level of excellence at the moment, but Cricket South Africa continue to come hard at head coach Mark Boucher, who has now been formally charged with “gross misconduct” over the allegations of racism made against him by the Social Justice and Nation-Building report.

In what one CSA insider described as “an aggressive attack” on Boucher, the record-breaking wicketkeeper/batsman was served with charges under the organisation’s disciplinary code the day before the ODI series against India began.

Having pulled off an improbable 2-1 win in the Test series against India after losing the first match, the Proteas then registered an impressive victory in the first ODI in Paarl in midweek.

But the CSA Board’s antagonistic attitude towards their own national team and management was shown when they failed to send out any form of congratulatory message to the captain, players or coaching staff for beating the then No.1 side in Test cricket. CSA have made a habit in recent years of sending out congratulatory statements for even minor triumphs.

The SJN report accused Boucher of discrimination and using racial slurs relating to Paul Adams’ complaint of the Proteas team using a song referring to him as “a brown shit in the ring” during their fines meetings back in the late 1990s.

CSA on Thursday afternoon confirmed that Advocate Terry Motau (SC) would chair the disciplinary hearing, with the parties meeting on January 26 to determine a timetable for proceedings.

Legal sources have suggested that CSA’s already depleted kitty could be emptied even further if they try to use the SJN report to dismiss either Boucher or director of cricket Graeme Smith. Informed sources have indicated enquiries are still being made into whether Smith should also be charged, but that matter is complicated by the fact that the former Proteas captain is technically an independent contractor.

Lawyers representing several respondents implicated in the report have labelled it as “flawed” and have pointed out that the ombudsman, Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, admitted himself that his findings were “tentative” and that he could not make “definitive findings” based on “untested evidence”.

The impartiality of the lawyers involved has also been called into question because 260 paragraphs of the final report were merely copied-and-pasted directly from the complainants’ submissions.

The fact that such a significant accusation as racism has now been publicly made against Boucher and Smith is bound to lead to major legal challenges.

“They are not going to go quietly, they’re not just fighting for their jobs but also to clear their names,” a source close to both former Proteas stars said.

Amidst all the anger and despondency at the news that Gulam Bodi has been charged with contriving to corrupt domestic T20 matches, we should not lose sight of the fact that Cricket South Africa and their anti-corruption officials have pounced on the former international so decisively.

In the wake of former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns’ astonishing acquittal, cricket administrators have realised that they have to tread methodically and precisely because the standards of evidence required to secure a criminal conviction are higher than they imagined.

CSA announced on November 6, just five days into the RamSlam T20 Challenge, that they had started an investigation into an international syndicate seeking to corrupt domestic games and then, on December 15, they revealed an “intermediary” had been charged.

That was after the conclusion of the T20 competition and much attention has fallen on the Cape Cobras’ bizarre loss to the Dolphins in the semi-final playoff in Durban. The visitors were on 154 for three in the 16^th over, chasing 179, and somehow managed to lose by five runs.

It is known that there was considerable concern amongst the Cobras management in the wake of the defeat, but given the fact that all domestic players were by then aware that CSA was on to something, the finger of suspicion maybe should not rest on a team that perhaps merely suffered one of those inexplicable implosions that make cricket such a fascinating game.

The RamSlam T20 Challenge was apparently not the only competition to have been improperly interfered with: The season-opening Africa T20 Cup was allegedly where the nonsense started. It was a televised event, without much at stake, featuring some of the younger, and therefore more naïve, players on the domestic circuit – the perfect breeding ground for matchfixers.

And now Bodi has been named as the South African at the centre of it all.

The former KwaZulu-Natal, Titans, Highveld Lions and Delhi Daredevils cricketer, whose international appearances were restricted to three limited-overs games in 2007, was the type of player that calamity just seemed to follow around – his career was dotted with comical run outs, extraordinary ways of getting out and even off the field he would do things like rolling his cart on team golf days.

Now one wonders whether the bizarre luck was just that or something else, something more deliberate?

And that is the biggest damage done by the disease of matchfixing – the doubts over whether all the weird and wonderful things you have seen on the cricket field are real or contrived?

A batsman who swings so freely from the crease like Bodi did is likely to get out in “soft” fashion from time to time, but the player born in Hathuran, India, always struck me as being a little disgruntled.

He was forever talking up his own performances and complaining about not getting fair opportunities. This from one of the players who was chosen ahead of Kevin Pietersen in KZN – in the days when they were both considered spin-bowling prospects – thanks to efforts to give players of colour more opportunity.

But the three international caps were well-deserved because Bodi was once one of the most free-scoring, dangerous top-order batsmen in domestic cricket.

However, the danger will always exist that players who feel hard done by, who believe they are not getting their due, could turn to the “dark side”. Judging by the rumours of white players going on strike, there is currently a large group of dissatisfied franchise cricketers and that should be a grave concern for CSA.

Both South Africa and India’s batsmen plundered runs before rain had the final say and gave the hosts an 11-run victory on the Duckworth/Lewis Method in the New Age Friendship Cup T20 at the BidVest Wanderers Stadium on Friday.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120330/Rain_returns_and_SA_win_on_DL

Jacques Kallis and Colin Ingram blazed half-centuries to lay the foundation for South Africa’s total of 219 for four, and Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa were making a very good fist of the chase as they took India to 71 without loss in just 7.5 overs before rain stopped play.

After ending their innings on a tremendous high, Justin Ontong and Albie Morkel lashing 26 runs off the final over, South Africa were unable to make a breakthrough with the ball, but Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s three overs for just 15 runs were ultimately the difference as India were behind according to the Duckworth/Lewis calculation, but in control in many people’s eyes.

Gambhir hit seven fours and a six in his 49 not out off just 28 balls. It was a stunning mix of stylish strokeplay and awesome power from the left-hander and it definitely had South Africa on the back foot.

Uthappa had made it to 18 not out off 19 balls when the rain arrived to end the match.

Tsotsobe was the only bowler to keep the batsmen quiet, not conceding a boundary. The other four bowlers used by South Africa conceded 53 runs in 4.5 overs.

South Africa had earlier charged to the fourth-highest T20 international total ever as they plundered 219 for four.

Kallis – who was being “honoured” by the game – and Ingram established South Africa’s dominance with a record second-wicket stand of 119 off 81 balls, before Ontong and Morkel provided an emphatic conclusion by taking 26 runs off the final over bowled by Suresh Raina.

With overcast, rainy skies over the Wanderers only clearing a couple of hours before the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni called correctly and then sent South Africa in. Richard Levi hit four of his first six balls to the boundary, but his cameo was over almost before it had begun as left-armer Irfan Pathan switched to over the wicket and immediately had him caught at slip by Rohit Sharma for 19.

The colder weather in Johannesburg may have helped the amazing Kallis, but having flown halfway around the world from chilly New Zealand just 48 hours previously, the great all-rounder produced another remarkable innings to celebrate his own party.

Showing his usual ice-cool judgment, Kallis was content to push singles, until he found the length he wanted. He would then positively murder the ball, lashing five fours and two sixes in his 61 off 42 balls.

Ingram, battling to establish himself at international level, had a dream evening as he blasted a career-best 78 off 50 balls, with eight fours and three sixes.

Their century stand – coming off 72 balls – was the sixth by a pair of South African batsmen and the first against India. They batted through until the end of the 15th over, when Kallis was eventually caught by Rohit on the midwicket boundary off Ravichandran Ashwin.

That just seemed to bring out the best in Ingram as the last five overs produced a great finish by the South Africans – 78 runs being scored in the last five overs!

Ingram cut loose by scoring his last 28 runs off just 12 balls, finishing with eight fours and three sixes, most of his strokes being in keeping with the MCC Coaching Manual.

Off-spinner Raina had been the one Indian bowler to police the South Africans up till then and he removed Ingram at the start of the 18th over, Rohit taking his third catch of the innings – the first Indian to do so – diving forward at deep midwicket.

Only five runs had come from the over, before Ontong ended it with a slog-swept six over midwicket.

Irfan was then tidy in the 19th, conceding just a single Ontong boundary, before the experienced right-hander went into overdrive by hitting the first two balls of Raina’s final over for four and six. Ontong then missed a cunning quicker, flatter delivery from Raina to be bowled for a quickfire 22 off seven balls, but Morkel was just the man to close the innings, going six-four-six to finish with 16 not out off three balls.

Debutant Farhaan Behardien kept the momentum going with his 20 not out off 11 balls and these are exciting days for South African batting when one considers Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis weren’t even playing!

The end result was South Africa’s highest total against India, beating the 172-5 in the 2010 T20 World Cup in the West Indies, and the second-highest score they have ever made, behind the 241-6 against England at SuperSport Park in 2009/10.

The off-spinner Ashwin was the most economical of the visiting bowlers, with one for 33 in his four overs.