“We know we have to put aside personal differences and work together. We require the same of our administrators. Politics and self-interest appear to trump cricket imperatives and good governance.” – South Africa’s players stand together.
TELFORD VICE | Cape Town
CRICKET South Africa (CSA) appear to have all but closed the door on using the skills and experience of figures of the stature of Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock. Simultaneously, the door has been opened wider for household names like Hashim Amla, Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince and Herschelle Gibbs to be more involved in South Africa’s structures.
Kallis, Kirsten, Donald and Pollock between them hold 1,464 international caps, have scored 99 centuries, taken 44 five-wicket hauls and won a World Cup, and occupy two places in the ICC Hall of Fame. They are also all white. And on Monday CSA told Nathi Mthethwa, South Africa’s minister of sport, that they will in future employ only black and brown consultants — unless it is proved that none suitable can be found.
That is unlikely to sit well with director of cricket Graeme Smith, who said on August 1: “If you asking me whether Jacques Kallis was one of the best batting coaches and batting cricketers we’ve ever had, I’d tell you yes. Do I feel he has a role to play in South African cricket? Jeez, it would be stupid of us not to involve our most successful cricketer, and the batting experiences he could bring to our young batters.”
Kallis served as South Africa’s batting consultant last season. Cricbuzz understands Prince turned down the offer of a position. Prince declined to confirm or deny that on Tuesday.
Prince is brown, as are Charl Langeveldt and Justin Ontong, South Africa’s bowling and fielding coaches, while assistant coach Enoch Nkwe is black. Paul Harris, the spin consultant, is the only member of head coach Mark Boucher’s retinue who is white, like Boucher himself.
CSA referred a request to interview Smith on the issue to acting chief executive Kugandrie Govender, who told Cricbuzz, “CSA has committed to this as one of the ways to reverse the decline of progress in this area.”
Did that mean whites need not apply for available positions? “No, it does not mean that,” Govender said. “It means that black and brown candidates with similar skills to white candidates will be hired ahead of the white candidates. Where skills of white candidates are specifically unique, then they will be selected ahead of black candidates. But the emphasis is on unique skills. This isn’t different to BEE [black economic empowerment] policy that many organisations already employ.”
How would CSA respond to the charge that they would waste white skills and experience? “White skills have been used extensively over the last decade, even when black skills could have been utilised just as effectively,” Govender said. “This has left those of us that are now in office with the tough job of redress of the redress. Transformation objectives have not been met. That’s the simple fact. And if there are unique skills that sit solely with white consultants, then CSA will use them. But if these skills can be found in black consultants, CSA has an obligation to select them over white candidates. This is a measure of self-regulation that CSA is employing to ensure we get closer and meet our transformation targets.”
The bigger picture is that Mthethwa has told CSA they need to work on transformation in the wake of several black and brown former players alleging racist treatment during their careers. There is no doubt whites have enjoyed preferential treatment by a game in which disproportionate power and authority has more often than not been vested in white hands. But Mthethwa is part of a government that needs all the approval it can get from its majority black electorate. The state’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic started promisingly but has lurched into shambles, and even in lockdown and with winter’s cold biting hard South Africans are putting up with a slew of service delivery disasters, among them scheduled power blackouts. Putting pressure on the lack of transformation in cricket, which is largely black but is held up as too white, is a lazy way to divert attention from more pressing matters.
CSA themselves are not short of problems. After their audience with Mthethwa on Monday they postponed their annual meeting, which was scheduled for Saturday. And that despite their need to elect a new president and settle on a new lead independent director. At the heart of that decision is a kerfuffle over a forensic investigation’s report, which was used to fire Thabang Moroe as chief executive on Thursday on charges of what CSA called “serious misconduct”.
The report could implicate in wrongdoing current members of the board and members council — which has authority over the board but is a structure deeply flawed by the fact that it includes board members — as well as senior staff. That might explain why the document is being kept under lock and key in a lawyer’s office, and reportedly can only be viewed there by the members council if they sign a non-disclosure agreement.
So there was a touch of déjà vu in the tone of a release that appeared under the banner of the South African Cricketers’ Association on Tuesday: “At board and operational level, CSA has lurched from crisis to crisis over the past year. Issues such as suspensions, dismissals, resignations, forensic audits, confidential leaks, litigation and financial mismanagement have dominated the cricket headlines. This is happening at a time when we are having challenging conversations about transformation, and in an environment where the financial viability of the game is under major threat.
“High standards are expected of us as players. To succeed as Proteas teams, we know we have to put aside personal differences and work together. We require the same of our administrators. Politics and self-interest appear to trump cricket imperatives and good governance. Decisions must be made that are in the best interests of cricket, failing which the game we love may be irreparably damaged in this country. The Proteas teams must be strong, the domestic structure must be strong, and the transformation pipeline must be strong — we demand that this be the focus of the CSA board and operational team.
“The CSA AGM scheduled for [Saturday] has now been postponed. This may be the last chance we have to change direction and save the game. As Proteas we demand that all stakeholders heed our sincere plea.”
And so say many South Africans. But the signatories of the statement weren’t any South Africans. Instead they were Aiden Markram, Andile Phehlukwayo, Anrich Nortjé, Ayabonga Khaka, Beuran Hendricks, Chloe Tryon, Dané van Niekerk, David Miller, Dean Elgar, Dwaine Pretorius, Faf du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Lungi Ngidi, Marizanne Kapp, Masabatha Klaas, Mignon du Preez, Nadine de Klerk, Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Suné Luus, Tabraiz Shamzi, Temba Bavuma, Trisha Chetty and Tumi Sekhukhune.
The mighty have spoken. Will the mice listen?
First published by Cricbuzz.
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