Ken Borland

Cricket South Africa’s Interim Board have been attacking the problem of the Members Council’s intransigence with Dobermann-like tenacity over the last week and there are hopes that next week will bring a reconvened meeting of the provincial presidents and a revote that sees the new Memorandum of Incorporation for the permanent board passed.

Last weekend the Members Council rejected the proposed MoI that would have implemented the recommendations of the Nicholson Commission, specifically having a board made up of a majority of independent directors, chaired by one of the independent directors.

The Interim Board has spent this week engaging with the provincial boards and have discovered that the 8-6 vote against an independent board may not have been an accurate reflection of the actual wishes of the delegates. In their discussions it has also emerged that there were misunderstandings over the definition of an ‘independent’ director, in some cases because of misinformation from the provincial president sitting on the Members Council.

“The Interim Board has engaged with the affiliate unions and they have found an open mind. It seems there has been some misinformation and they did not understand how a majority independent board would work, with more specific focus on getting cricket people involved. There are thousands of cricket-lovers in this country who could be eligible as an independent director.

“It seems some Members Council delegates who are not keen on the change did not motivate the proposals correctly to their own provincial boards. Some false notions were peddled, maybe to try and ensure more seats for the non-independents. It also seems that the vote against the MoI may not have been properly recorded because some provinces actually voted yes but wanted more detail,” a source with intimate knowledge of the discussions told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

One of the arguments put forward against the new MoI is Sascoc policy that states members are to have boards comprising a majority of non-independent directors. But it is believed the Interim Board are willing to face down Sascoc as well if they do not allow the composition of CSA’s board to change.

New South Africa limited-overs captain Temba Bavuma said on Monday that he hopes to define a style of play for the Proteas that will be fit for every condition and for every occasion.

Bavuma will lead South Africa for the first time in the three ODIs against Pakistan which start at Centurion on April 2, followed by four T20 Internationals.

The Proteas’ failure to win any of the world cups is well-documented and their performances in the global tournaments seem to be getting worse rather than improving, their most recent failure being their dismal showing in England when they failed to advance to the knockout stage. South Africa have not played an ODI since their tremendous 3-0 whitewash of Australia little more than a year ago, but since the 2019 World Cup they have completed just five matches.

“South Africa have always been more than competitive in ODIs, we’ve been No.1 in the world before. As the leader I’m just going to try and define a style of play that we will be able to execute in any conditions and under any occasion. To do that, mentally we need to improve a lot, we need to get stronger. I’ll be trying to inspire and get the guys into a space where they can perform as well as they can.

“We want to be aggressive and able to dominate in all conditions. We definitely want to test ourselves more in conditions that may be ‘unfavourable’ for us, we want to see if we can execute our brand of play at all times. The mood is optimistic and hopefully I can lead the team to a couple of victories as we build to 2023. We really want to define our style of play,” Bavuma said on Monday.

Bavuma’s landmark appointment – he is the first Black African to lead South Africa – comes after he has played just six ODIs, but has scored 335 runs at a strike-rate of 92 in those games. While the 30-year-old has now scaled the Drakensberg in terms of his career, he knows he needs to keep posting performances to add to the rocks already on his cairn on top of the mountain.

“Those conversations about where I’ll bat are still ongoing, but it will probably be in the top three, I would like to think no further down than number four. But being versatile is something I pride myself on, it’s something I’ve always had to do. I’ve got to make sure I’ve got the skills to achieve whatever role I’m in. Obviously I’m excited by the responsibility.

“I’m going to enjoy the journey and this new chapter in my career, and I look forward to adding value with the bat. I have to stamp my mark on the game and I will be the guy on the field who the players will look to for decision-making and plans. It starts with communication off the field and then hopefully we can execute the plans,” Bavuma said.

The Sharks’ Currie Cup stars have enjoyed a five-week break in the sun and fun of Durban, but now is the time for them to start filtering back into action, with coach Sean Everitt on Thursday naming 13 of the squad that played in the final in the line-up for Saturday’s preparation series match against the Lions in Johannesburg. New arrival Siya Kolisi is still conspicuous by his absence, however.

Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Lukhanyo Am, Dylan Richardson, Thomas du Toit and Curwin Bosch will all return to action on Saturday, but Springbok captain Kolisi will have to wait a little longer for his first match in the Black and White jersey following his move from the Stormers.

“These matches are about opportunity and game time for the whole 45-man squad and we’ve rotated after two matches because it’s time to make changes now and bring the seniors back. After a five-week break they ae ready to rock-and-roll. We showed we can vary our play in the Currie Cup and now it’s about developing confidence in our style of play.

“Siya is still in his pre-season, he’s just completed his first full week of training. Our defence and attack systems are very different to what he’s used to and it does take time. We’ll give hm a go next week if we feel he understands our systems well enough, but it’s by no means a definite,” Everitt said on Thursday.

A couple of interesting new youngsters will make the trip up to the big city with the Sharks.

Centre Rynhard Jonker, the son of leading referee Marius, is a Glenwood High School product who Everitt said the Sharks have recruited for his utility and creative skills, while replacement lock Emile van Heerden is an U21 star who is the son of former Springbok Fritz.

Sharks – Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Lukhanyo Am (C), Rynhard Jonker, Yaw Penxe, Boeta Chamberlain, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Mpilo Gumede, Henco Venter, Reniel Hugo, Le Roux Roets, John-Hubert Meyer, Dan Jooste, Mzamo Majola. Bench: Dylan Richardson, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Thomas du Toit, Emile van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Grant Williams, Curwin Bosch, Marius Louw.

Boland and North-West are the two teams that will join the six franchise centres in the new eight-team provincial-based Division I that will be introduced as part of the restructuring of the domestic game, Cricket South Africa announced on Monday.

Eastern Province (Port Elizabeth), Free State (Bloemfontein), Central Gauteng Lions (Johannesburg), KwaZulu-Natal Coastal (Durban), Northerns (Centurion) and Western Province (Cape Town) will be the other teams in Division I, while Limpopo and Mpumalanga gain first-class status and join South-Western Districts, Easterns, Border, KZN Inland and Northern Cape in Division II. The new system features automatic promotion/relegation between the divisions, but this will only kick in after the 2022/23 season.

The changes are based on the recommendations of the independent task team chaired by former Protea and ICC chief executive David Richardson, who explained the reasons for the ‘promotion’ of Boland and North-West to the top table.

“Boland have a tremendous fan base, especially amongst the coloured community, and there is a true love for the game and cricket culture around Paarl. Their stadium is of very good quality and they are very ambitious. They have excellent development pathways and they have contributed several players to the franchise system, while their provincial team has done consistently well.

“North-West are well-administered, they have done some tremendous infrastructure development in Potchefstroom and the university provides them with a huge opportunity to attract, develop and retain players. What I like the most about the new system is that there is no room for complacency; one of the biggest challenges of the franchise system was that there were no consequences for finishing sixth,” Richardson said on Monday.

Dr Stavros Nicolaou, the chairman of the CSA Interim Board, said the directors were confident the new structure would result in a stronger Proteas team out on the park.

“The recommendations of the Dave Richardson task team have been fully supported and endorsed by the board. We need domestic cricket to be a springboard for international excellence, that was a key consideration. We believe the new structure will give us a cutting edge in terms of competitiveness and more sustainability. It will optimise our potential in terms of the development of players and talent,” Nicolaou said.

Andrew Breetzke, the CEO of SACA, said it was a relief that the players could now have some certainty and they could move on from the restructuring issue.

“There’s almost been restructuring fatigue in our offices because we have been speaking abut this for five years, we just needed to get it done and move on. The positive is that we now have some finality because the uncertainty is not good for the game. We respect CSA have the right to make changes to the structure, and we have had extensive consultations with them,” Breetzke said.

“The move has triggered a number of issues with our current Memorandum of Understanding in terms of contracting of players. And 75 players are now out of the system. The end of the franchises will require new contracts and different allocations, and if teams are relegated then there needs to be a way for players to exit their contract. We’ve been focused on the cricket imperatives.”

Richardson said they had learnt from the past when the number of teams in South Africa’s premier domestic competitions had almost doubled from five to nine during his playing days in the 1980s and 90s.

“We started with five sides in the A Section and then teams were added so we went to nine in quite a short space of time. But there was no relegation so the teams at the bottom lose enthusiasm and focus and it just brings the whole quality of the competition down. Now there is opportunity across the board, but it depends on how well you play.

“Having promotion/relegation is probably the biggest lesson we learned from the past. The teams coming up to Division I will face a huge challenge because they will not be used to playing such high-quality cricket, but hopefully they will be able to best equip themselves for that. What I like most about the new system is that there is no room for complacency,” Richardson said.