Ken Borland

Cricket in South Africa was facing an apocalyptic scenario which the acceptance of an independent majority board has now averted, Dr Stavros Nicolaou, the chairman of the Interim Board, said on Friday.

The details of that new board, to be elected at the AGM to be held no later than June 12, were revealed by Nicolaou at a joint briefing with the Minister of Sport and the Members Council at Cricket South Africa’s offices on Friday.

The new board will comprise 15 directors for the next three years, after which it will be reduced to 13 directors. The 15-strong board will be made up of eight independent directors, five non-independent and the two CSA executives – the CEO and the chief financial officer.

The eight independent directors will be nominated by a six-strong panel comprising representatives from the Institute of Directors, SAICA, the Legal Practices Council, a Members Council nominee, a SACA nominee with previous international cricket experience, and the former CSA presidents have also appointed a representative. Applications for independent directors will begin afresh and close on May 10.

“Cricket was at the edge of the cliff, we were millimetres away, not even centimetres. And it was a very steep cliff and not an easy climb back up, almost an apocalyptic scenario. Sponsors and staff were getting nervous, the country at large too. Cricket needs certainty and predictability, that’s what the players want too. The new MoI is a world-class document and a source of great pride.

“An independent majority board is standard practice, Governance 101, and the chairperson must be independent as well, with all 15 directors voting for one of the eight independent directors. The MoI also makes clear the different roles and responsibilities of the Board and the Members Council because there has been a lot of criticism over cricket having two centres of power,” Nicolaou said.

While Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa tried to portray his relationship with the Members Council as being vaguely affectionate, he made clear how strongly he disapproved of their leadership of the game, while also firing another warning shot at Sascoc for them not to get involved again.

“This six-month process was all about staying with the status quo or transforming, and we made it clear we wanted transformation, nothing else. It was a matter of life and death for cricket and those who think they can stand against this process must think again. We need to create a space in which sponsors can be comfortable so they can support sport.

“There is no way this process is going back and it sets a good precedent, not a bad one. Government is reluctant to get into the fray, we try to stay at arm’s length from our sporting codes and we believed CSA itself should be able to resolve their issues. But they made it worse and cricket was going down the drain. Sport being run by sport people, what has it brought?” Mthethwa said.

Cricket South Africa’s Members Council on Wednesday approved the new constitution that embraces the governance recommendations of the Interim Board based on the Nicholson Report, which means the organisation can now move on to the process of choosing their new board made up of independent and non-independent directors.

The Interim Board on Wednesday clarified the process by which these directors will be appointed, disputing suggestions published by The Citizen that they have any knowledge of who the applicants to be independent directors are and that they play any role in drawing up a shortlist for the Nominations Committee.

The Nominations Committee should be in place later this week and that six-member panel will comprise either a men’s or women’s former international player nominated by SACA, alongside a former CSA president nominated by the Interim Board, a Members Council representative and people from the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Directors and the Legal Practice Council.

“The Interim Board does not know who has applied and will not be involved in the nominations process other than recruiting one former CSA president to serve on the Nominations Committee. All the applications are under lock and key in the office and will be passed on directly from the office to the Nominations Committee as soon as they are in place,” Interim Board spokeswoman Judith February told The Citizen.

The planning for the long-delayed AGM of Cricket South Africa can now go ahead, with the election of the new board likely to happen around May 14, which is when the extended tenure of the Interim Board is set to end.

Interim Board chair Dr Stavros Nicolaou said he was looking forward to the focus now moving from the boardroom to the field of play.

“Cricket is now poised to move forward with a new governance structure. We look forward to taking the focus away from the boardroom and to the field of play, especially ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year. I would like to thank the Members’ Council for ensuring that this resolution is passed.

“We have now reached the stage where we can move to complete one of the outstanding issues of our mandate which is to hold the Annual General Meeting. We have kept Minister Nathi Mthethwa fully briefed on the latest developments,” Nicolaou said.

The Minister will hold a joint press conference with the Interim Board and the Members Council on Friday, at which the new Memorandum of Incorporation is expected to be made public as South African cricket finally starts to emerge from two years of poor leadership, in-fighting and enormous damage to its credibility.

Cricket South Africa’s Interim Board have clarified the process for the appointment of independent directors and, as long as the Members Council are still behaving like adults and have given the new MoI majority approval by 11am on Wednesday morning, what the new constitution says about the recruitment of new board members will be thoroughly explained to the public.

The Interim Board on Wednesday morning disputed suggestions published by The Citizen that they have any knowledge of who the applicants to be independent directors are and that they play any role in drawing up a shortlist for the Nominations Committee.

“The Interim Board does not know who has applied and will not be involved in the nominations process other than recruiting one former CSA president to serve on the Nominations Committee. All the applications are under lock and key in the office and will be passed on directly from the office to the Nominations Committee as soon as they are in place,” Interim Board spokeswoman Judith February told The Citizen.

The Interim Board hope to make the whole Memorandum of Incorporation public once the Special Resolution accepting it has been confirmed and will hold a briefing to take the media through the process thereafter.

The Nominations Committee also needs to be put in place later this week and that six-member panel will comprise either a men’s or women’s former international player nominated by SACA, alongside a former CSA president nominated by the Interim Board, a Members Council representative and people from the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Directors and the Legal Practice Council.

“The Interim Board is certainly not going to be appointing the new board and according to our agreement with the sports minister, nobody from the Interim Board is going to be standing for the new board,” February added.

It took the most gruelling of meetings, but after 11 hours of intense wrangling, the Cricket South Africa Members Council on Sunday night finally agreed to the new constitution proposed by the Interim Board, marking the end of the crisis in cricket that would have led to Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa withdrawing their recognition at the end of the week.

The Members Council met on Saturday afternoon and then went into a meeting with the Interim Board from 10am on Sunday. The initial attitude of the Members Council seemed to be that CSA should “defend” their autonomy against the Minister’s looming action, especially since Sascoc issued a strong rejection of having a majority independent board in a statement on Saturday.

But with the threat of irreparable harm being done to the game if they were suspended by the minister, agreement was eventually reached on all the outstanding issues that prevented the Members Council from approving the MoI last weekend.

Sascoc, who have warned CSA that they could have their membership of the mother body suspended if they agree to an majority independent board and an independent chair, will obviously still be an obstacle, but it is believed Mthethwa will be handling that side of the conflict.

CSA issued a communique half-an-hour before midnight on Sunday night, the headline of which included the gorgeous words “Joint Statement” indicating agreement had finally been reached and a catastrophe averted. In terms of Section 60 of the Companies Act, an expedited process has now been triggered which will see the MoI being adopted in the next 48 hours.

“By reaching this agreement, cricket in South Africa has adopted a governance mode which is best practice both in South Africa and internationally,” the statement said. Both Members Council president Rihan Richards and Interim Board chair Dr Stavros Nicolaou were then quoted expressing their delight at the cessation of hostilities.