Ken Borland

The Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings resumed this week with those implicated in the earlier sittings getting the chance to answer their accusers and it seems the first half of the commission had several charlatans giving evidence.

It just goes to show the importance of hearing both sides of the story before jumping to sensational conclusions.

Clear problems have been identified like the Dolphins’ handling of Aya Myoli’s assault by Robbie Frylinck, the millions of rand which Easterns have been given to uplift development clubs but which have not been distributed to them and Khaya Zondo’s non-selection in 2015.

Myoli’s treatment is particularly shocking: because Frylinck negotiated a plea bargain that included confidentiality, Myoli, despite being the victim, was never informed of the outcome of the disciplinary hearing back in 2016 and had no idea some form of justice had been done.

But there has also been much evidence that previous testimony has come from embittered former players, especially those convicted of matchfixing offences.

We heard stories of players who had a history of creating divisions within their team, players who complained of being underpaid in comparison to White players when the facts showed that for eight of their seasons with a franchise they were within the top-four salary-earners, and international stars who complained about being discriminated against but failed 15 different fitness tests but were considered undroppable due to quotas.

While some of this has undoubtedly been mischievous, there have also been understandable misunderstandings and it has been good this week to see much of the air cleared up.

Enoch Nkwe’s demotion from interim head coach to assistant coach was controversial and sinister undertones were detected when then acting CSA chief executive Jacques Faul held a meeting with him over cappuccinos at Pearl Valley after Faul had met with SACA, the players’ association.

But Faul pointed out this week that he set up the meeting with Nkwe, along with director of cricket Graeme Smith, head coach Mark Boucher and captain Faf du Plessis in order to allow them to try and find common ground because he was desperately keen to keep Nkwe involved with the Proteas.

Empty vessels make the most noise, so the saying goes, but amidst all the loud cries of racial discrimination why hasn’t there been more noise over the fact that the Black-dominated previous CSA Board was seriously underpaying Nkwe as well as manager Khomotso Volvo Masubelele?

When Faul, who had been acting CEO before in 2012/13, returned to CSA in December 2019, he was shocked to find Nkwe and Masubelele were earning less than what their predecessors were getting in 2012. And this was approved by a CSA Board which only featured a couple of Whites and former CEO Thabang Moroe. The same people who appointed Smith as director of cricket and approved Boucher as the head coach.

Also giving evidence this week was former Proteas manager Mohammed Moosajee, a man who has contributed immensely to South African cricket and is as committed to transformation and excellence as anyone. He is a cricket man through and through.

As usual, he made perfect sense when he called for the Proteas to have a unified stance towards BLM, rather than the currently awkward situation where some people are kneeling, others are not; some fists are raised, others are not. As is so often the case in South Africa, it comes down to education.

Moosajee pointed out that it was himself and vilified former captain Smith who actually came up with the concepts around a more inclusive team with a greater appreciation for people from different backgrounds, races and religions.

As Moosajee pointed out, there is still work to be done to ensure the Proteas are a fully transformed and successful outfit, one which returns to the top table of world cricket. But much progress has been made in the last dozen years.

Following their disappointment in the Rainbow Cup final, Bulls coach Jake White has had to carefully manage not only his players’ morale but also their bodies, with the team getting over the first of two Currie Cup hurdles in six days with their tight 32-27 win over the tricky Pumas in Pretoria at the weekend.

White said he knew his team were always going to be severely tested by the Pumas, who are fired up after not being involved in the Rainbow Cup and starting the Currie Cup with a bonus point hammering of the Lions. The Bulls, on the other hand, are tired, according to their coach. And they now have to travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Free State Cheetahs on Wednesday.

“Considering we had to fly home this week from Italy, it was long travel and we are tired, and I expected the team to be a bit flat. But we played really nicely, we kept the ball and built some phases. I would have liked it to have been easier after leading 25-10, but you can never underestimate the Pumas – they are a good side with lots of time to prepare for this match.

“So I am very happy to get five points and the guys had to dig deep. It was always going to be tough and we knew the Pumas would come hard, everyone wants to beat us. Unfortunately we let them slip back into the game at 25-10, but overall we’ve got to be happy. And it doesn’t get any easier, last year we lost to the Cheetahs away, so we know how tough that match will be and we need to do a lot of planning,” White said.

While the Bulls’ doctors were yet to examine Gio Aplon when he spoke, White said he feared the worst for the veteran Springbok who hobbled off the field just 25 minutes into his first start for the side.

“Gio really wanted to be a part of the team and it’s really unfortunate what happened. But we are playing so much rugby, week after week, and there are no easy fixtures in South Africa so the attrition rate is big. Gio was always here to help as a senior player because our backline is very young and we needed someone older and wiser. He knew the risk but he wanted to be part of it.

“He’s a fantastic person and a wonderful rugby player, he should have played 100 times for the Springboks, and you don’t want it to eventually end like that. But his chances are slim because he’s done his knee again and it’s the same knee. Sometimes you don’t get the ideal ending, in sport you can’t always write the script you want to have,” White said.

Temba Bavuma can complain with righteous indignation over the misfortune that saw him miss the entire Test series against the West Indies, but he can have no complaints over the quality of preparation his T20 side will be getting against a home team packed with giants of the shortened version of the game.

The five-match T20 series starts at St George’s in Grenada on Saturday and the West Indies have T20 legends Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo in their squad. It will be a daunting challenge for Bavuma, who will actually lead his team out on to the field for the first time in a T20, having missed the series against Pakistan due to injury.

That bad luck with injuries followed him to the Caribbean, where he was on the sidelines of the memorable Test triumph due to first a hip problem and then a dislocated finger while training for the second Test. So Bavuma will certainly be eager for the contest.

“As a team we’ve had various discussions on the type of cricket we want to play and now we have a chance to test that against a very strong outfit, the West Indies obviously being one of the favourites for the World Cup later this year. We get the chance to test our skills against their’s and that should give us a clearer picture of what needs to be done.

“It’s going to be a good measure, it will show us where our standard is in our game. We don’t have confirmation yet of where the World Cup will be played, so we are just looking at the challenge against the West Indies now. We want to play our best cricket in these conditions and they might just happen to be similar to what is found on the subcontinent,” Bavuma said on Friday.

Half-a-dozen of the players who no doubt quaffed some celebratory drinks following their leading roles in the Test series triumph are likely to play in the first T20, while Bavuma and spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and George Linde were also part of the Test squad. So there is plenty of feel-good continuity in the Proteas camp.

“The Tests went exceptionally well and the outcome of that was momentum and confidence. Although this is a different format, quite a few of the players were involved in the Tests. It’s only natural that we want to continue as is, carrying the same language through, with most of the guys being the same. The discussions Dean Elgar and I have had about how to take the team forward obviously bore fruit.

“We’ll only finalise our plans after practice today because it has been raining and the weather is a bit of a concern. We haven’t had an opportunity yet to look at the pitch, but it’s fantastic we’ve got options when it comes down to spin, all-rounders or bolstering the batting,” Bavuma said.

New Proteas Test captain Dean Elgar certainly seems to have made the sale in terms of getting buy-in from the team for his new approach and he said on Wednesday that the 2-0 series win in the West Indies was a result of the environment in the squad.

The opening batsman’s first outing as the full-time captain ended with South Africa hammering the West Indies, who were one place above them on the ICC rankings, by an innings-and-63-runs and then by 158 runs in the two Tests at St Lucia. It was the Proteas first Test series win away from home since beating newly-crowned world champions New Zealand in March 2017.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve won away from home, so it was a much-needed result and this performance speaks volumes for the environment around the team and the brand of cricket we played. It’s not about me, the players are my biggest asset as captain and I’m here to motivate the squad and the environment. It’s a massive honour to captain this team.

“You can either take the captaincy to your head or to your heart, and I like to think I’ve taken it to my heart. I’ve always been a leader, through school and franchise cricket, and I think I lead from the front. I may be small in stature, but I’m a big guy in terms of standing up. I don’t shy away from that,” Elgar said.

While the fast bowlers were front and centre in setting up the victory, Elgar also had plenty of praise for spinner Keshav Maharaj and the batsmen.

“Rabada, Nortje and Ngidi are a fearsome threesome, they put the fear of God in the batsmen, and they are a machine attack. Each of them is unique, but they complement each other so well, they know their games and they understand different game-plans.

“But Keshav is a massive player for the Proteas, the way he has changed his game and is always willing to learn. He’s huge for the environment and deserves more respect. To take a five-for on a pitch that wasn’t turning is brilliant. The batsmen have struggled of late but in really tough, challenging conditions, it was great to see everyone come in and make a contribution,” Elgar said.