Jacques Faul – Page 2 – Bulletproof Truth

The war on cricket, by cricket and for cricket

“The sudden resignation of the president and acting chief executive is clear evidence that cricket in South Africa is at war with itself.” – SACA

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

War is not a descriptor to be used without careful consideration, especially in matters as comparatively trivial as cricket. But it isn’t difficult to understand why South Africa’s players took the nuclear option on Wednesday.

In a release issued to highlight “that the crises that currently engulf Cricket South Africa (CSA) threaten the very existence of the game in South Africa”, the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) said, “The sudden resignation of both the president and acting chief executive is clear evidence that cricket in South Africa is at war with itself.”

Chris Nenzani resigned on Saturday, ending a tenure of more than seven years as president, too many of them spent apparently looking on passively while CSA went on a rampage of self-harm. On Monday, acting chief executive Jacques Faul, a widely respected figure, walked out. Nenzani and Faul have been replaced by vice-president Beresford Williams and chief commercial officer Kugandrie Govender, both in acting capacities — which could lead to jokes that CSA have so many prominent “actors” around they might win an Oscar.

Even at the best of times, such uncertainty and resultant governance concerns would be troubling. But these are far from the best of times. Long before Covid-19 changed everything we thought we knew about anything, CSA was a managerial, financial and ethical mess. Faul’s appointment in December, after chief executive Thabang Moroe’s deeply damaging tenure of more than two years was halted by his suspension, helped clean up the chaos.

Then came the pandemic, which has had an alarming impact on CSA’s ability to organise the game, and an increasingly chaotic argument over racism in cricket that has veered towards untruth and mercenary behaviour, perhaps not least because CSA could be planning to pay reparations to victims.

Faul’s voluntary removal from the equation — a decision he has ascribed to having “lost control of performing key operational duties” — appears to have been the last straw for SACA, which took aim at the real villains of the piece: Nenzani and his delinquent board.

“Mr Nenzani owes all stakeholders an immediate explanation as to why he has stood down a mere three weeks before the CSA annual meeting [on September 5], after he had refused to do so over the previous eight-month period despite calls to do so from key stakeholders within the game,” SACA chief executive Andrew Breetzke was quoted as saying. “Together with the sudden resignation of Dr Jacques Faul as acting chief executive, one can only deduce that the board of directors has yet again reached a level of dysfunctionality that threatens the existence of the game in our country.”

CSA’s relationship with the players, which last year dwindled to the level of SACA taking legal action against the suits to be paid, was put back on track by Faul. But, according to the release, it has since taken a knock: “SACA has engaged directly with players over the past few weeks, and there is a growing realisation amongst players that their careers as professional cricketers are being threatened by the very organisation that should be nurturing them.”

SACA demanded that “CSA must show leadership in dealing with the various crises facing the game; the transformation and discrimination crisis that has come to the fore over the past two months; the resumption of domestic and international cricket under Covid-19; the finalisation of the disciplinary matter of the suspended chief executive; the forensic investigation [focused on Moroe but looking at all areas of CSA’s business]; and the forecast deficit [which could be USD58.1-million by the end of the 2022 rights cycle] which has the potential to financially cripple the game”.

Omphile Ramela, SACA’s president, drew attention to the plight of CSA’s provincial affiliates, all of which are dependent on CSA for funding and some of which have been infected by questionable ethics: “Instead of facing these crises, CSA is embroiled in destructive politics at board and management level. It is evident that cricket is unable to self-correct. With the CSA annual meeting looming, the reality is that a number of affiliates have crises of their own, and it is these structures that provide leadership to CSA.

“Many of the administrative challenges confronting the game are as a result of administrators failing to adhere to principles of corporate governance. Before we see the total collapse of the game of cricket there needs to be a leadership intervention at board and management level that is able to stabilise and transform both the game and the business of cricket.”

Now that CSA have appointed their first female chief executive, albeit not permanently, might they be ready to act on the wisdom of another woman, Margaret Atwood, who wrote: “War is what happens when language fails.” Are we there yet?

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Govender steps into the centre of CSA’s snakepit

“It is important to improve our reputation both locally and internationally.” – Kugandrie Govender, CSA’s new acting chief executive, gets something right first up.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

KUGANDRIE Govender on Wednesday became the first woman to lead Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) operational arm. She was appointed acting chief executive in the wake of the resignation on Monday of Jacques Faul, who was roped in when Thabang Moroe was suspended from the permanent position in December on allegations of misconduct.

Govender has been CSA’s chief commercial officer (COO) since May last year. She holds degrees in marketing and came to cricket with 23 years of experience as a marketing and media executive with high profile companies.

“We believe that Kugandrie is the right person to drive the organisation forward during this period,” a release quoted acting president Beresford Williams as saying. “Her experience has more than prepared her to fulfill this role with excellence. We are confident that she will propel the many strategic initiatives that CSA undertakes to inspire and unify our stakeholders, partners, and employees, to continue the work of building the reputation of cricket and more importantly CSA, so as to contribute to its sporting competitiveness.”

Govender was quoted as saying: “CSA’s mandate is to ensure that cricket is an inclusive sporting code for all South Africans. It is important to improve our reputation both locally and internationally. This is a critical time for our organisation and [it is] crucial for key stakeholders to work together to improve the rating of cricket among those who love, support, and follow the sport, and those who have trust in the sport’s ability to unify all South Africans. We will work hard to improve the levels of pride amongst our stakeholders and I am humbled to be a part of the collective that commits itself to ensure that CSA is a federation of which South Africans are proud.”

So far, so good. Impressive, even. But cricketminded South Africans will urgently look for indications that Govender isn’t part of the same problem that has caused sponsors to leave, overseen lapses of governance and ethics, and damaged relationships with key entities like the players. Although the blame has been laid at the doors of Moroe and CSA’s board, she was the COO while all that was happening. But she has also been the COO while CSA has, modestly but surely, put itself back together since December — only to be derailed by the coronavirus pandemic, and lately by a raging internecine dispute over race.

So Faul’s parting words should serve as a warning to Govender. “I felt like I had lost control of performing key operational duties and I was never going to be a guy who sat there as a figurehead and collected a pay cheque, so I took the decision that the time was right to walk away,” Faul was quoted as saying in an interview with Sport24. “There are just things at play where certain narratives are being driven and it’s a dangerous place. Perception becomes more important than facts and then that’s what drives the narrative … it’s worrisome.”

Govender is now, officially, in charge of that narrative. Some will say she has the opportunity of a lifetime, others that she has taken a step further into the centre of a snakepit. Snake or saviour? All of South African cricket, and at least some of the game beyond, is watching and waiting for an answer.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Disease, disunity and death threats: South African cricket’s race to the bottom

“I think cricket gets in its own way too often. You’ve got to be handling your stuff well, and we don’t do that.” – Graeme Smith

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

GRAEME Smith says he has received death threats in the wake of expressing his support for Black Lives Matter (BLM), the newest twist in a tangled race debate that is never far from the surface in a society where prejudice was until relatively recently rendered as law. That conversation has exploded in cricket in the past few weeks.

During a webinar hosted by a financial services company on Tuesday, the former Test captain, who is now Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) director of cricket, said: “It’s been a really challenging experience. All of us have found ourselves in a really heated space. We’ve taken an immense amount of abuse, death threats. It’s been an eye-opening experience. It has shocked me how heated things have got.”

The fire was lit on July 6, when Lungi Ngidi was asked during an online press conference whether BLM would be a topic of discussion among South Africa’s players. He said it would, and welcomed it. Ngidi was assailed by white former players, among them Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippenaar and Brian McMillan. That prompted support for Ngidi from Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Anrich Nortjé, Marizanne Kapp and Dwaine Pretorius.

On July 18, at the 3TC Solidarity Cup in Centurion, all the players involved along with Smith and Makhaya Ntini — who were commentating on the game — and 1995 rugby World Cup-winning Springbok captain Francois Pienaar — a 3TC organiser — took a knee and raised a fist in solidarity with BLM. Smith issued a statement of support on the same day, saying there was “no room for neutrality on this topic”.

No chance of that. The issue has exposed South Africa’s divisions on race as still raw even though they stretch back to the first European invasion in 1652. Black and brown former players have lined up to articulate their experiences, and CSA seem to be planning to compensate them financially. Whites have threatened to boycott matches if CSA do not scrap their rules on racial selection. And it all started with Ngidi’s answer to a question.

“Lungi, to my mind, said nothing wrong,” Smith said. “He expressed an opinion. He didn’t make a statement. He expressed the fact that the team was going to get together and have a conversation. In no way did he deserve to be attacked. What happened to him and the way the guys came at him is entirely wrong.”

Painful though the episode has been, it has prompted a readdressing of matters of race. “Within the space we’ve handled it extremely maturely,” Smith said. “We got together, we listened, the conversation was open, people shared, and we decided to support each other on this movement. The conversation’s open, people can listen, people can debate. We can talk to each other.

“I get that in South Africa we’ve got so many issues. In some ways it’s felt like we’re bearing the brunt for government not having delivered on a number of things over the years, and the frustration over that. You pick up the paper or you click online and you see all the negativity and the disappointment and the frustration in people’s lives, and livelihoods being affected.”

Smith may regret the latter assertion. CSA are due to appear before a parliamentary committee on Friday, and South Africa’s government — dominated by the ruling African National Congress, and in which corruption, wasted resources and ineptitude are widespread — will likely grasp a diversionary straw to beat the back of a sport like cricket, which is seen as largely white even though it’s mostly black and brown.

But being the butt of opportunistic criticism is nothing new for Smith, who has been mercilessly targetted, sometimes groundlessly, since his appointment in December. The fact that cricket was, as he said, “a giant mess” when he took the position seems to have been forgotten.

South Africa’s men’s team had limped home from losing four of five completed matches — including all three Tests — in India, sponsors were walking away, and governance problems were piled high, as were financial losses. Since Smith’s appointment South Africa have won seven and lost eight matches: not great but better. Sponsors are trickling back, and the suits and the players are on better terms.

The suspension of chief executive Thabang Moroe helped slow the bleeding, but eight months on his fate remains undecided. Moroe’s acting replacement, the significantly more competent Jacques Faul, resigned on Monday — two days after the eminently dispensable Chris Nenzani, CSA’s president, abandoned ship.

All the while a pandemic has threatened the viability of almost every industry on earth, and exponentially more so in an already struggling South African entity trying to recapture its squandered stature in a global game suddenly focused on the survival of the richest.

“Covid has hit corporates and business extensively. Finding people that have the money to spend is very challenging. You want the people who want to be associated with your brand want to be proud to be there. We’ve got to clean up the game.” – Graeme Smith

Are things better than they were in December? Are they worse? Who can tell? “When we jumped in in December cricket had fallen into really tough times; from performance on the field and within the business side,” Smith said. “My job was more cricket-focused, but then you start having to repair a number of relationships — from sponsors to player bodies to fixing TV-rights deals, deals that were done in the past but haven’t been paid for … and, and, and … You make it through the summer through trial and error, you rebuild some things. And then Covid hits and you face the next phase of those challenges.”

Quite apart from the coronavirus emergency demanding “plans and costs that are now coming into our game that weren’t there before”, it has also meant extensive negotiations with authorities who have kept South Africa’s borders closed — meaning that, in terms of the current regulations, teams cannot go overseas and foreign sides cannot tour in the coming summer. And that’s without considering the rest of the game.

“Cricket is such an extensive sport,” Smith said. “You think down to the private coaching, the clubs, the schools, the whole pipeline. How we get that open is going to be a huge challenge. Opening up international travel so that cricket … home tours for us is how we generally earn the major part of our income, and at the moment that’s all on hold. We’re working with government to see what the plans are. It’s challenging.”

Smith sounded more hopeful of South Africa’s women’s team being able to fulfill their commitment to play two T20Is and four ODIs in England next month: “I must commend the ECB. The money that they’re investing on even trying to get our ladies over there — looking to charter planes then putting them into bio bubbles. They’ll be spending an extensive amount of money to get this tour underway.”

Less than seven hours after he said that, the tour was called off. The overhanging reality is that the combination of the economic fallout from the pandemic and CSA’s failure in their duty as custodians of the game could shrivel cricket in South Africa to a far smaller, impoverished, internationally insignificant version of its past self.

“Covid has hit corporates and business extensively,” Smith said. “Finding people that have the money to spend is very challenging. You want to be putting out the right stories. You want the people who want to be associated with your brand want to be proud to be there. That’s what we’ve got to create. We’ve got to clean up the game.

“The money that gets invested into growing the game and transformation and the development of the game — those are the stories you want to be making headlines. But I think cricket gets in its own way too often. Whether it’s people finding themselves in the wrong position at the right time or bad decision-making, or egos that get into positions of power, it’s unfortunate and it takes away from the beauty of our sport.”

Kolpak agreements and player free agency have hit South Africa hard — exhibit A: AB de Villiers — and “New Zealand are head-hunting our youngsters at a rate of knots. And then you deal with the world and the opportunities that are out there. You’ve got to be handling your stuff well, and we don’t do that.”

Against that background, an escalating screaming match on racism was the last thing CSA needed. Or not. Maybe it’s the best time to hold a culture camp, which 32 of South Africa’s current players are doing in Skukuza this week.

“The way the guys have handled things is fantastic,” Smith said. “The messages are good coming out of there. We’ve got to be able to listen and understand the stories that other guys are bringing to the fore; where they’re coming from. The goal is to try to move forward in the right direction and create a better path.”

But South Africa’s problem is that there are two paths, one far less even and more difficult to follow than the other — even 26 years after institutionalised racism was banished from the statutes. So when one of Smith’s first decisions is to appoint Mark Boucher, his friend, former teammate and beneficiary of the same white privilege that helped Smith make the most of his skill and talent, he should expect people to be angry. Especially when a follower of the other path, Enoch Nkwe, is effectively demoted from interim team director to assistant coach to make way for Boucher.

“Sport is brutal, and that’s the challenge,” Smith said. “Cricket is brutal. It’s a high-performing environment. Your personal performance is always under scrutiny. You also have the element of people who feel begrudged by not getting that opportunity, not getting enough of a chance. It’s a fine line between the two. Cricket is such a brutal game when it comes to that. There’s going to be so many people across the cricketing fraternity who have been affected by that.

“There’s lost heroes everywhere. That’s why it’s important to have these conversations and to open that channel. We’re growing the game, we want to see the game represent all the people, we want to be successful. Let’s get it going. That’s what taking a knee [at the 3TC game] meant for us — we’re all together. I haven’t seen the team have such an honest conversation in a few years, which is great. People could share, listen to all sides, have an open discussion, and represent not only the BLM movement but the GBV [Gender Based Violence] movement as well, and raise R3-million [USD173,000] for charity. How do you become a better person? How do you affect your environment in a positive way? Everyone’s hanging onto their cause and forgetting about the bigger picture at this stage.”

There can be no bigger cause than overcoming Covid-19, followed by achieving racial equality. South Africans who transpose the two are trying to put out the fire in one house on one street while the city beyond and the world itself are ablaze with a far greater threat. Already there are signs that the rest of the game is getting on with rebuilding itself while shutting out the noise coming from the troubled streets on the sharp tip of Africa.

The fire next time has been here since 1652 and it isn’t going away. It’s the bigger, badder fire this time that needs fighting now.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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CSA’s credibility crumbles further with Faul’s exit

“Chris Nenzani’s resignation in no way absolves him from any wrongdoing.” – you know you’re in trouble when minnows like the Democratic Alliance bully you.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

MONDAY went from bad to bizarre for Cricket South Africa (CSA) when, hours after they announced president Chris Nenzani’s resignation, acting chief executive Jacques Faul also walked away.

Life for those still attached to the ailing organisation could get yet more complicated, what with the country’s official opposition demanding sweeping action — including the resignation of the entire board — ahead of CSA’s appearance in front of parliament’s portfolio committee on sport, art and culture on Friday.

A safe pair of hands who guided CSA through another crisis in 2012 and 2013, Faul was appointed in December in the wake of the suspension of Thabang Moroe on allegations of misconduct. Who his replacement might be was not clear on Monday, but CSA company secretary Welsh Gwaza and chief commercial officer Kugandrie Govender would seem to be the prime candidates.

Faul confirmed his decision to Cricbuzz, but was not free to say more: Monday was his wife’s birthday. He said last month he would leave CSA on September 15 and return to his permanent position as chief executive of the Titans. Even so, his dramatic exit on Monday in the throes of a stormy board meeting will rock a game still reeling from Nenzani’s exit. Nenzani’s days, too were numbered — his tenure was due to end at the annual meeting on September 5.

But the twin shocks will only add to the pressure on CSA to pull out of the spiral of disaster they have been in since Moroe’s suspension, which followed more than two years of increasingly alarming decision-making under his authority.

All of which will add to the intensity of the focus on Friday’s parliamentary meeting. On Monday, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) issued a statement by shadow minister Tsepo Mhlongo, who wrote, “While the DA welcomes the resignation of … Nenzani, his resignation in no way absolves him from any wrongdoing.”

Mhlongo demanded Nenzani’s attendance at Friday’s meeting, and that vice-president Beresford Williams, who has been named acting president, and the rest of the board also resign.

Although they are the official opposition, the DA are small fry who hold only 84 of the 400 available seats in a parliament dominated by the African National Congress (ANC), who have 230 seats. But, at CSA’s last appearance in front of the committee in June, Nenzani angered the sports minister, the ANC’s Nathi Mthethwa, in a discussion about transformation. “I felt insulted with your intervention when you said you only take people on merit‚” Mthethwa told Nenzani.

In South Africa, if you earn the disapproval of a ruling party who have failed on every front and remain in power after 26 years only because of an utterly miserable cast of alternatives and voters’ tragically misguided loyalty, you must be getting a lot wrong. Faul’s resignation is only the latest evidence that CSA are deep in the abyss.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Nenzani’s legacy lost in Moroe mess

Nenzani’s board didn’t see the headlights of the oncoming train in the tunnel, didn’t care that they were about to be flattened, or were themselves the train going the wrong way and causing destruction.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

CHRIS Nenzani has finally stepped away from the trough. Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) embattled president resigned on Saturday, leaving behind him an organisation that has veered towards disaster under his watch. But even his last act as the leader of the game in his country was flawed: he quit 22 days before he would have been forced out of office.

Nenzani, who has been president since February 2013, was due to exit the post at CSA’s annual meeting on September 5, when his successor is to be elected. Having served both his allotted three-year terms, CSA’s constitution was changed to squeeze an extra year out of a position that pays up to USD23,000 per annum. So there should be no crowing that the growing pressure on Nenzani to go was successful.

Much of his tenure proceeded smoothly enough. But the wheels began falling off in September 2017, when Thabang Moroe — until then CSA’s vice-president — became the acting chief executive in the wake of the clouded departure of Haroon Lorgat. Moroe was appointed to the position permanently in July 2018, the spark for a blaze of scandals that, by the time he was suspended in December 2019, had dragged CSA to the point of financial and governance catastrophe. They could be USD57.4-million in debt by the end of the 2022 rights cycle, long-term sponsors have deserted them, and not long ago their relationship with the players was on the brink of collapse. But Moroe has not gone quietly. Instead he is fighting a battle that seems headed for the courts, all the while being paid a monthly salary of more than USD20,000. Another legal battle looms in the wake of Naasei Appiah, the chief operating officer, being dismissed on Sunday.

Nenzani’s legacy will be of presiding over a board that either didn’t see the headlights of the oncoming train in the tunnel, didn’t care that they were about to be flattened, or were themselves the train going the wrong way and causing destruction.

So a release on Nenzani’s decision was laughably skewed, even by CSA’s risible standards: “Mr Nenzani has led CSA with dedication and astutely since 2013. Mr Nenzani has provided valuable leadership, insight, assistance and direction in advancing the game of cricket with a focus on achieving transformation and access for the majority of the South African population.”

It is true that Nenzani has been a strong and principled proponent of transformation, and he is rightly commended for that. But it’s just as true that almost everything else his presidency has touched has withered on the vine.

Why has he gone when he could have served out the remainder of his term without adding to the drama that has beset CSA for the past two years? Nenzani didn’t respond to Cricbuzz’ attempts to find answers to that question on Monday. He will, the release said, make himself available to the press after the annual meeting. Until then, speculation will swirl.

One theory to explain why he quit presents itself between the lines of the last paragraph of a letter CSA sent their sponsors to inform them of Nenzani’s decision: “In the interim [before the annual meeting], please address all communication which would have been meant for the attention of Mr. Nenzani … to the office of the company secretary.”

Why not to Jacques Faul, the acting chief executive? Perhaps because he is set to leave the organisation on September 15. Or to Beresford Williams, the sitting vice-president? Perhaps because a forensic investigation, commissioned to discover if there was enough evidence to summarily dismiss Moroe without having to bother with a long, costly and potentially messy disciplinary process, also implicates Nenzani, Williams and the rest of the board?

Those are decent suppositions, but they are probably wide of the mark. Not least because Cricbuzz understands that neither Nenzani nor the rest of the board have yet seen the results of the forensic investigation as the report is still with the audit committee.

No doubt closer to the truth is that Nenzani knows he has lost the support of the board as well as of powerful figures in CSA’s operational arm. The most powerful of those figures is Welsh Gwaza, the company secretary, who is now, and until September 5, where the buck stops at CSA.

Gwaza is a known ally of Moroe, and would form a formidable team should Moroe get his job back. Does he want it back? Moroe’s lawyers were asked that question on Friday. They have yet to respond. Does he want to be president? Probably not — it pays exponentially less than his current sweet deal. Besides, only a provincial president who is a board member can be elected to the top job. Moroe, previously Gauteng’s president, is therefore ineligible.

But this is CSA, where stranger things have happened and will again.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Hopes fade for lucrative India T20I tour

The revenue CSA would have earned from the visit has been removed from their budgets.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

SOUTH Africa’s hopes of steadying their shaky finances with a visit by India are receding. They had planned to lure cricket’s most bankable team for a T20I series this month, but that now seems unlikely to happen — perhaps at all.

Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) coffers were in a sorry state even before the coronavirus pandemic posed an existential threat to the global economy. The board are expected to declare a small profit at their annual meeting on September 5, but losses that could mount to USD57.6-million by the end of the 2022 rights cycle continue to loom over the organisation.

So there were reasons to be cheerful when CSA acting chief executive Jacques Faul told an online press conference on May 21: “We had a teleconference with India [the previous day] and we’re encouraged by their willingness to honour the agreement to play the three T20s in August, and if that’s postponed maybe a bit later.”

That would have put a dent of USD10-million in CSA’s debt. But sources told Cricbuzz on Friday that the money, which was included in the estimation of earnings for the coming months, had been removed from the budget — a clear indication that the venture had become improbable.

A smaller player in world cricket like CSA were always going to struggle to secure the presence of the game’s biggest earners at a time when every other team will be desperate to do the same. But the bond between CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, which stretches back to their playing days, could have made all the difference.

During that May 21 presser, the deal for India’s tour would only have been sweetened by Smith punting Ganguly for the highest office in world cricket: “Leadership in our sport is going to be key, and having someone at a level who understands the modern game, understands the challenges that are going to be faced, emphasises more the people who get put into key positions. I think the president of the ICC becomes a key position. It would be great to see a cricket man like Sourav Ganguly get into the role of president of the ICC. That will be good for the game and good for the modern game. He understands it, he’s played it as the highest level, he’s respected, and his leadership will be key to us going forward. That would be a great appointment.”

Smith’s glowing endorsement of Ganguly, which seemed genuine and unrehearsed and caught his fellow suits off guard, prompted CSA president Chris Nenzani to issue a rare public statement making clear that Smith had spoken in his personal capacity.

Even so, almost three months down the line the only confirmed fixtures on India’s schedule for the rest of the year are three T20s in October and three Tests in December — all of them in Australia. That will have to change, what with the IPL running from September 19 to November 10. But it’s clear that windows are closing.

Perhaps the lesson is that it takes more than conversations between two former players to put money in the bank, even if they are figures of the stature of Smith and Ganguly.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Graeme Smith takes guard for a long innings at CSA

“Hopefully nobody involved in sharing their stories has agendas and wants to be part of the solution and create a better environment.” – Graeme Smith

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

YOU can take the cricketer out of Graeme Smith, but good luck taking Graeme Smith out of cricket. Even so, when an advisory arrived shortly before nine o’clock on Friday night that he would hold a press conference at half-past noon on Saturday, imaginations leapt: was he about to announce his resignation as CSA’s director of cricket after not quite eight months in the job?

That conclusion was within easy reach for anyone who has kept abreast of cricket news in South Africa during those not quite eight months. If Smith wasn’t accused of appointing his mates to important positions, he was said to have been improperly appointed himself, and of being dumb, deaf and blind to racism in the South Africa team he captained.

To believe this narrative uncritically is to assume that cricket in the country was a step away from perfect. All it needed was the right person as director of cricket. And that person was not Smith. Closer to the truth is that the game was careening towards catastrophe before his appointment in December. Months of hopelessly inept, often destructive administration under CSA’s chief executive, the now suspended Thabang Moroe, had taken the game to the brink of disaster. Cricket is still deep in the woods, but the suits’ wrecked relationship with the players has been restored and new sponsors are being signed to replace those that walked away.

But the anti-Smith brigade will have none of that. To them, all that matters is that Moroe is black and Smith is white — as are acting chief executive Jacques Faul, head coach Mark Boucher, and batting and spin consultants Jacques Kallis and Paul Harris. The finger-pointers are far less likely to mention that assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, bowling coach Charl Langeveldt, fielding coach Justin Ontong and the rest of the national team’s support staff are black and brown. Because that doesn’t fit the narrative that Smith’s very presence is proof of an evil plot to roll back transformation. This skewed version appears regularly, on and between the lines, in the media and is often fuelled by details — some of which have been proven as untrue — that seem to come from inside CSA’s offices and committees. Did that make Smith feel unfairly targetted?

“Referring to some of the articles around appointments — my appointment and the appointment of the staff — I think those are extremely unfair,” he said. “I feel there is a slight agenda with some things that are being said. But, internally, with all these leaked documents and trying to create stories in the media, certainly I do feel there is a plan at play at times. But I’ve got to come back to my value system and why I got involved in this job.

“CSA courted me for a while. I went through the same interview process as everybody else in getting the job. I actually turned it down; I tried to not be a part of it. And when I got involved in December it was absolute chaos in South African cricket. There was zero trust with anyone within the organisation.

“I got involved because I’ve got cricket at heart. I feel that I can add value to the game … I’m a cricket person. That’s why I got involved. I feel like, at times, that gets messed with because of all the other stuff that’s going on around the scenes. I don’t feel like I’ve been perfect in this job. I don’t feel like I’m going to get everything right. But my intentions are good. My value systems are good. I know that. And I want to be part improving the game.

“If there’s other people who feel that there’s better people for this position then they must tell me. I’m by no means hungry to stay in this position for the rest of my life. I’ve got other opportunities that I enjoy and want to be a part of. But my goal is to hopefully be a part of creating a better CSA.

“I do feel that at the moment there’s an element that’s pulling in a lot of different directions. There’s a lot of maybe internal agendas at play. I’d like to align some of this stuff going forward, in particular from a cricket perspective. That’s my major role and I’d like to get back to performing that role.

“I can understand where people are coming from, but I think this narrative of a clique taking over is really unfair. I was appointed by a really vigorous process. There were mainly black African people in my interviews. I didn’t appoint myself. By no means did I fight to be in this position.

“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.

“Some of the stuff being leaked can only be from parties within the organisation, and that’s disappointing. It doesn’t help cricket. It doesn’t help us build relationships. It doesn’t help us put our right foot forward. We spend more time talking about these other things instead of the game of cricket. I would like to be part of letting cricket talk going forward. Hopefully, with all these things behind the scenes, we can all be pulling in the right direction to make that happen and to put the best part of our game and the organisation going forward. It certainly does feel that there are people within these positions with ulterior motives.”

Many would have cut their losses and found different ways to fill their days and pay their bills. But not many are appointed Test captain at 22. Even fewer survive that level of heat for almost 11 years, while opening the batting, no less, and do so well enough to take their team to the top of the world rankings. Unless Smith is sacked he will go on his own terms and in his own time. And another thing …

“I really would like the opportunity to engage and be a part of the solution …”

“Hopefully nobody involved in sharing their stories has agendas and wants to be part of the solution and create a better environment …”

“I feel that I can be part of the solution in terms of working with CSA and the players to help get us to perform well again, to help us financially, to bring my relationships and thinking and to share that with people …”

“I keep having to revisit why I got involved, and that’s to really want to improve South African cricket and be part of the solution …”

“We’ve got to own and listen and be a part of the solution …”

“You want to be part of the solution …”

“We should all be and want to be a part of the solution …”

Those quotes all belong to Smith, and all of them — some of which are repeated in context below — came during not quite 40 minutes on Saturday. The man is intent on finding solutions, geddit. Happily for him, CSA aren’t short of problems.

“In my conversations about why [Makhaya Ntini] ran to the ground his explanations to me were different at the time. He never expressed anything different to me.” – Graeme Smith

One of them is that Faul, as competent and steady a hand on the tiller as can be found anywhere in sport, is set to leave CSA on September 15. What might that do to Smith’s resolve to stay on? “It doesn’t affect why I got involved, and that’s to put cricket straight and to try improve CSA as an organisation,” Smith said. “It’s why I fearfully got involved December, amongst all the chaos back then, and the previous months of talking to Thabang and various other [board] members. My commitment is still there to want to do good in South African cricket and to move forward with whoever the leadership’s going to be post Jacques and at board level.”

Ah, yes: the board, the real villains of the piece, who claim credit they don’t earn and are quick to shirk blame when wheels they have loosened fall off. An annual meeting looms on September 5, but there is little chance of CSA ending up in better custodial hands. Why would Smith subject himself to an operations office where cannibals roam and a board that would struggle to find its own pulse unless it was being paid to do so?

“When times are tough you do ask yourself a lot of questions,” Smith said. “I can tell you that life was a lot more simple as a broadcaster. I feel that I had a successful career. I was played a huge role in South African cricket’s success over the years, and it was sad to see South African cricket fall off that perch. That’s why I got involved. When times are tough you’ve got to revisit. It’s very easy to get caught in the noise; the chaos around you, the emotion.

“I keep having to revisit why I got involved, and that’s to really want to improve South African cricket and be part of the solution. When I joined in December it was chaotic. It’s feeling chaotic again. I try and understand what the motive is for these internal leaks. What is the end game? What are people trying to create? It’s sad, because the only thing that suffers is our game and the future of our game. That’s why I’m here. But it does raise question marks about whether you can achieve in this role and be successful in it.

“I was fortunate or unfortunate that I captained for a long time, so I’ve formulated ways of dealing with the stress and the public pressure that come with being in a high-profile job.

“I really do believe that there are a lot of good people in CSA, especially at staff level. Within cricket services there are some amazing people who work extremely hard, who have the right intentions.

“The current player group is young and need work. We need to develop a strong performance environment again. But there are some really good people there who want to do well. It’s fantastic to be a part of that. That’s what you’ve got to try and remind yourself of.

“The people within the organisation who have ulterior motives, hopefully that’ll come to the fore and they’ll be found out. I’ve been surprised at a lot of the good people at staff level within CSA who only want good for the game and are prepared to work for it. Sometimes that’s overshadowed by a lot of the stuff that’s going on.”

On top of all that, cricket in South Africa has been slammed by the twin tornadoes of the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. The first has affected CSA in much the same way as it has every other administrative body, but the second has had special resonance in a society that wrote racism into the laws of the land until 1994. The crippling legacy of almost 350 years of de facto and legislated apartheid won’t be undone for decades, perhaps centuries. The frustration that truth has generated helps fuel the disgust at Smith’s unbearable whiteness and has helped opportunists aim low blows at him. But it is just as true that Smith was a beneficiary of apartheid, a privilege he was born into like every other white South African. Thus he has work to do on his wokeness.

“Maybe sometimes it’s an awareness thing,” he said. “I came in as a young player and I was a young captain, and if I think back, culturally we weren’t the strongest environment. But as time went on, particularly from 2008 onwards, we became a really strong team. In 2010, the stuff we did [at the national squad’s culture camp] was a real opportunity to sit and listen — to different backgrounds, upbringings, people’s different walks of life — and work that into an environment where everyone feels included.

“Certainly, I was never aware and was never made aware [of black and brown players’ struggles to fit into the team’s dynamic]. As far as I was aware there were always channels people could talk to in management; the CEO or president. But obviously players didn’t feel that way. That is an awareness thing and something we’ve got to look back on and hopefully improve on going forward; the ability to listen to these players now and the challenges that they faced. Hopefully nobody involved in sharing their stories has no agendas and wants to be part of the solution and create a better environment.”

The most prominent testimony in this regard has come from Makhaya Ntini, South Africa’s first black African player and a veteran of 101 Tests, who said he preferred to run to and from the ground rather than take the team bus because of the loneliness he experienced. Fellow players, he said, would not sit next to him and avoided asking him to join them for dinner. Ntini played 284 matches for South Africa across the formats. Smith was his captain in 167 of them.

“I was very taken aback by ‘Mackie’s’ stuff,” Smith said. “Having played with ‘Mackie’ I never thought of him as a silent person. When I got into the environment he was a senior player already. In my conversations about why he ran to the ground his explanations to me were different at the time. He never expressed anything different to me. Culturally, I can imagine … being the only black African from his walk of life, it must have been tough.

“Maybe an awareness around that is something that I didn’t have. I’ve certainly considered that. In 2010, when we opened the channels for sharing in the culture camp we had, that became a real and powerful experience for me. Some elements really surprised me. We’ve got to own and listen and be a part of the solution. Some aspects certainly caught me off guard.

“I feel normal with ‘Mackie’. We had an open discussion. We listened, we shared; there are certainly no hard feelings at all. It’s about being able to hear each other, talk to each other, communicate and find a way forward. I feel like myself and ‘Mackie’ have done that. There’s no issues between us.”

Ntini’s experience, and that of several other black and brown players, has prompted CSA to establish the Social Justice Nation Building project. What will it do?

“The initial thing is to listen,” Smith said. “It’s a real opportunity to have open conversation, to listen to everyone talk, to understand everyone’s thoughts and ideas around the process. A number of things that have come out have been surprising. The most important thing is that we’ve got to create an environment in which everyone feels safe to communicate in.

“The thing that has surprised me the most is that there were players in the past who never felt that they had a voice or could feel comfortable enough to communicate. As part of my role and my department’s role, we’re going to have a very big influence on how things move forward. I really would like the opportunity to engage and be a part of the solution.”

For better or worse, but never with indifference, Smith is part of South African cricket. Best that all of his compatriots, his supporters as well as his detractors — fair as well as unfair, opportunistic and honourable alike — get used to that. Resign his position? Not even close.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Social media exposes South Africa’s anti-social cricket culture

“CSA believe they have the privilege and prerogative to decide whether black lives matter.” – Omphile Ramela, SACA president

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

CONTRASTING reactions to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement have ripped the band-aid off the still gaping wound of racial disunity in South African cricket’s broader community. That follows Lungi Ngidi’s expressed support for BLM, and Graeme Smith’s suggestion that Cricket South Africa (CSA) will mark the tide rising globally against ongoing systemic racism towards blacks. Ngidi’s stance will be welcomed far and wide, but he has been chastised by former players from his own country on social media.

South Africa, which emerged from centuries of racial oppression 26 years ago, remains the most unequal society in the world with the white minority controlling a disproportionate amount of the country’s wealth. It will not escape notice that Ngidi is black and his detractors white, and that all of the latter owe their playing and subsequent careers in large part to the privilege afforded them by laws that advantaged those of their race.

And that they would likely not have had those careers had they been born black. Conversely, Ngidi would have been barred by law from fulfilling his talent had he been born in the country his critics grew up in. Those laws no longer exist, but their ongoing effects are impossible to explain away. Black lives did not matter in the old South Africa, and it is difficult to believe they matter currently.

None of which informed a Facebook thread on Wednesday that started with Rudi Steyn, who played three Tests and an ODI for South Africa during the 1990s, posting an article quoting Ngidi on BLM and commenting: “I believe the Proteas should make a stand against racism, but if they stand up for [BLM] while ignoring the way white farmers are daily being ‘slaughtered’ (sic) like animals, they have lost my vote.”

Boeta Dippenaar supported Steyn: “If you want me to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you, Lungi, then stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me with regards to farm attacks.”

Former international umpire Ian Howell was on the same page: “Agree with you Rudi: all lives matter. [Ngidi] is entitled to his opinion but he should not be in a position to force it on his teammates.”

Brian McMillan wrote: “Opinions always accepted. But [Ngidi’s] current one, in my opinion, is crap and political! All lives matter!”

Pat Symcox weighed in with: “What nonsense is this. [Ngidi] must take his own stand if he wishes. Stop trying to get the Proteas involved in his belief … Now when Ngidi has his next meal perhaps he would rather consider supporting the farmers of South Africa who are under pressure right now. A cause worth supporting.”

Vince van der Bijl, a former fast bowler who served as the ICC’s umpires’ and referees’ manager, was a rare white voice arguing the other way: “BLM does not say other lives don’t matter … Respect is allowing others to have their opinions. You are allowed yours. We do not have the space to state all the things that we talk about. And agree on. Saying one thing does not exclude other beliefs. We ache for so many things in this country. Hopefully we can help the healing as opposed to widen the divides.”

According to the UN, South Africa has the ninth-highest murder rate in the world. Government statistics say 21,022 people were murdered in the country from April 2018 to March 2019. Only 57 of all those who suffered that fate in South Africa in 2019 were farmers. Many wealthier farmers are white, and the conspiracy theory that they are being wantonly attacked is widely spread by global far-right and neo-fascist political groups who propagate the myth an international “white genocide” is underway.

“Black Lives Matter. It is as simple as that.” – Jacques Faul, CSA acting chief executive

Dippenaar told Cricbuzz he took issue with the way BLM presented itself: “It’s got all the characteristics of a leftist movement — ‘If you don’t agree with what I propose you do, then you’re a racist’. The movement itself has gone beyond what it stands for. It’s now nothing short of thuggery — ‘I throw stones and break windows because I stand for this’.”

Most reports of violence at BLM protests have been shown to be untrue. More often protestors have been attacked by police, often without due cause.

Asked if he agreed that whites of his generation had benefitted unfairly from apartheid, Dippenaar said: “Of course we did. There is no doubt that it was a repressive, repulsive institution. And that it left us with a lot of scars. Things that happened during apartheid haven’t changed overnight, but as long as we use the excuse of apartheid we’ll never move forward. It’s a bit like being a drunk — he can only help himself the day he realises he’s an alcoholic.”

The spark for all that was Ngidi’s answer when he was asked, during an online press conference on Monday, whether South Africa’s players had or would talk about supporting BLM. “That’s definitely something that we will discuss once we are together in person,” Ngidi said. “We have spoken about it and everyone is well aware of what’s going on. It’s a difficult one because we are not together, so it’s hard to discuss. But once we get back to playing that is definitely something we have to address as a team.

“As a nation as well, we have a past that is very difficult because of racial discrimination. So it’s definitely something we will be addressing as a team and if we are not, it’s something I will bring up. It’s something that we need to take very seriously and, like the rest of the world is doing, make a stand.”

Even though he clearly spoke in his personal capacity, Dippenaar regarded his comments as prescriptive: “The thing that’s wrong is Lungi Ngidi saying that CSA, as if he is speaking on behalf of everybody, should take a stand.”

At another online presser on Wednesday, director of cricket Smith did not give a direct answer when he was asked to clarify CSA’s stance on BLM: “We are very aware of what’s going on around the world and of our role at CSA. Lungi answered it very well when he said we are all in our own little pockets, and I think it’s important that in the future we all come together and figure out how we can play our role in the BLM movement; how we can be effective in doing that.

“My belief in these things is that it’s important to have buy-in and that of everyone invested in it as well, and I have no doubt that will be the case. But the discussion in each team environment and as CSA about how we handle it going forward is important.

“We do have the 3TC [a game in a new format] approaching on Mandela Day [July 18], where we are doing a lot for charity, and that will be our first occasion with the BLM movement. But as far as our iconic men’s and women’s teams are concerned there needs to be discussion.

“We’re discussing various ways of handling it. The kit has gone to print already. We need to figure out how we can be effective about it as well, also authentic, and spread the messages that are meaningful to us as South Africans. And how that affects us on a daily basis.”

That has been interpreted as unacceptable vacillation, not least by South African Cricketers’ Association president Omphile Ramela, who hit back in his personal capacity in a Facebook post on Thursday: “The fact that CSA is ‘pondering and seeking buy-in’ about how best to partake in the [BLM] movement is shameful! They believe they have the privilege and prerogative to decide whether black lives matter. Well, here is an answer to their ponder … Black lives do matter as stipulated by the law and transformation policies. It is a just, human, and lawful matter which requires no pondering nor buy-in from anybody.”

Ramela accused CSA of “regressing the gains of transformation in senior administrative representation and on the field of play”, a reference to the appointment of several whites — including Smith — in high profile positions in December, and to the fact that of the 176 places available in the XIs picked for the 16 matches South Africa’s men’s team have played since then, only 80 went to black and brown players. CSA’s transformation targets say at least six players in every team should not be white: two black and four brown. The teams picked since December thus fall short by 16 black and brown player places.

Ramela called for introspection: “Nobody is to be spared, starting with the white leaders across the entire cricket fraternity from the sponsors to the executives of unions and the mother body. Until these individual leaders collectively demonstrate contrition and consciously build a more inclusive future for the game, rather than preserving ill-gotten white privilege, they have no right to speak a word towards a global movement that has been sparked by the most grotesque incident [in Minneapolis on May 25, when the black George Floyd was killed in full public view by a white police officer].

“What the BLM movement is calling for, especially in the business of sport, is for the black and white members of the sport fraternity to start holding accountable those we entrust with the power to lead and preserve the integrity of the game,” Ramela wrote. “Sport continues to be a microcosm of society, yet it remains one of the most forceful tools we have to break the shackles and bondages of the past.”

That, as social media luridly laid bare on Thursday, is a long way off. Ngidi should be admired and respected for using his platform as a prominent player to become an activist in the cause for long denied justice that has, rightfully, won millions of followers of all races worldwide. But, for some, he has done the wrong thing. You have to wonder what those who feel that way made of Ngidi’s franchise, the Titans, issuing a release on Thursday to “add their voice and unwavering support to the [BLM] movement, as well as reiterating their unwavering intolerance of gender based violence”.

CSA, in particular, need to tread carefully. Having wasted one opportunity to put themselves on the right side of history, they can’t afford to stumble again. Nothing less than a strongly expressed anti-racist stance — non-racism is a cop-out — will suffice. A release on Thursday, which arrived long after all of the above had been spewed out, showed a shift in approach.

“CSA stands in solidarity with the BLM movement,” it began. “CSA was founded on the principles of non-racialism and inclusion at unity. The vision of CSA, to become a truly national sport of winners supported by the majority, finds resonance in the ethos of ‘Black Lives Matter’.”

The acting chief executive, Jacques Faul, was quoted as saying: “Black Lives Matter. It is as simple as that. As a national sporting body representing more than 56-million South Africans and with the privileged position of owning a platform as large as we do, it is of vital importance that we use our voice to educate and listen to others on topics involving all forms of discrimination.

“During our celebrations of Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July, CSA will further spread the message of anti-racism through the BLM campaign while we also speak out against all forms of violence and in particular, the scourge that is gender based violence and various other causes that are of importance to our society and the organisation.”

From non-racism to anti-racism. From not saying enough themselves — or not saying it clearly enough — to listening to others. From a rotten past to a difficult present, but striving for a better future. Keep at it, CSA. The world is watching.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Lockdown life lands big fish De Kock

“It’s going to be tough to play professional games. We’re going to have so many regulations. Realistically, I don’t foresee cricket being played for a while.” – Quinton de Kock on the game’s return in South Africa.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

CRICKET wants Quinton de Kock back from the coronavirus lockdown sooner rather than later, but the hankering is not mutual. South Africa’s white-ball captain and all-format wicketkeeper last picked up a bat four months ago. And he doesn’t plan on doing so with earnest intent for a while yet, despite being in the 45-man high performance training squad named last Monday.

During an online press conference after Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) awards on Saturday, when he was the major men’s winner, De Kock told reporters: “Look, I could be honest. Or I can be … I’ll give you my honest opinion: I’ve done nothing. Lockdown has been, you know, lockdown. I haven’t done anything. Obviously I’ve kept up with fitness. I’ve done my training in the gym and what not, but I haven’t hit a ball yet.”

Whyever not?

“There’s still so much time until the next serious cricket game is going to happen. So to go back to serious training … I don’t know when it needs to happen. I mean, you can go back to hitting balls, for now. But we could actually be hitting balls for no reason. That’s where I feel I’m at.”

The international schedule says South Africa are due in the Caribbean to play West Indies in two Tests and five T20Is from July 23 to August 16. But clearance to train was only obtained from government on June 26 and South Africa’s borders remain closed. Thus the tour exists only, and is likely to only ever exist, as an itinerary.

“I’m sure other guys have trained, but I kind of needed a little bit of lockdown,” De Kock said. “I needed a break to spend time with myself, my family, friends. You know, do my own thing. I’ve really taken to it and really enjoyed it. I’ve tried to really stay away from cricket. But as soon as we get the full go ahead, when serious cricket is going to happen, then I’ll get back into it. I’m not too sure when it’s going to happen, but as soon as we get the go ahead then I’ll get back into it ASAP.”

Reminded that he was in the training group, De Kock said: “Obviously we’re all part of the squad. But, because of the regulations, it’s hard to have such a big squad in a certain environment. I’m based in a very remote place. There’s not much cricket around where I live. I’ve made sure my fitness is up to date. Practice almost becomes muscle memory. For me, at this point in my career, a break is more important than training.”

De Kock lives in Knysna, a picturesque seaside town in the Western Cape famed for its verdant forest, breathtaking views from craggy coastal cliffs, and South Africa’s finest oysters. It’s no doubt close to heaven for De Kock, who is happiest when he has a fishing rod — not a bat — in his hands. In August last year he went all the way to Bolivia with another of his ilk, Dale Steyn, in hopes of hooking the infamously feisty golden dorado.

“I don’t need all that stress on myself. I could see from a mile away that I didn’t need the Test captaincy on top of my shoulders.”

As the 45-man squad cannot train together because of South Africa’s anti-virus regulations, the players are to report to their nearest franchise venue to practise in small groups. The nearest such ground to De Kock is St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, 261 kilometres east of Knysna. But Port Elizabeth is in the Eastern Cape and travel across provincial lines is not freely permitted under the current rules, although De Kock might qualify for a permit. The closest regularly used franchise venue to Knysna that is also in the Western Cape is Paarl, some 437 kilometres to the west. It’s not on the coast, but the area offers decent trout fishing for intrepid anglers like De Kock.

He wasn’t about to take the bait: “It’s going to be tough to play professional games. We’re going to have so many regulations. Realistically, I don’t foresee cricket being played [in South Africa] for a while. I’m talking at least a month. Obviously we’ve got the three game thing, so we’ll play that. But international cricket, I don’t know.

“You’ve got guys like Jacques and Graeme, they’re on it. I haven’t been part of their conversation so I don’t really know. I’m sure they’re keen to get some cricket played.

“I’ve really enjoyed the lockdown, but it comes to the point where I also want to get back on the field and start playing. So I’m very unsure. I’m a bit in the clouds as to what’s going on.”

Jacques Faul and Graeme Smith, CSA’s acting chief executive and their director of cricket, are indeed working hard on getting the game back on the field. Their first step towards that happening is “the three game thing”, a single match of 36 overs contested by three teams of eight players in a new format called 3TC. Originally scheduled for June 27, the venture had to be postponed because CSA couldn’t secure government permission in time for it to go ahead as planned.

That has since been granted, and the game is now slated for July 18 in Centurion, which is in Gauteng — where around 4,000 new Covid-19 cases are being reported daily. Consequently the province’s premier, David Makhura, is considering enforcing a tougher version of lockdown. Faul told Cricbuzz on Sunday that CSA had identified Skukuza, a rural hamlet in Mpumalanga, and Potchefstroom in North West as viable alternatives if Centurion is rendered off limits for cricket in the coming days.

Not that De Kock, who is due to captain one of the 3TC sides, is wondering whether he might soon have the chance to angle for barbel in Mpumalanga’s Sand River, catch carp in the Vaal River in North West, or try his luck trawling for empty beer cans and other rubbish in Centurion Lake, which is undergoing rehabilitation in the wake of years of pollution.

De Kock was last on the field in Potchefstroom on March 7, when he captained South Africa to a six-wicket win to seal a 3-0 sweep in an ODI series against Australia. That was their only success in their last seven rubbers across the formats, not counting a disastrous 2019 World Cup campaign in which they won only three of their eight completed matches. So De Kock’s seeming ambivalence about getting back on the horse won’t sit well with some.

But he wasn’t betraying snowflake tendencies when he said he was enjoying lockdown. Not since 2012 has he had such an extended break from the game. Even so, he played 55 matches that year and has reached 50 games on this annual scoreboard five times in the previous eight years. He hit 40 matches in 2011 and has not dipped beneath that benchmark since. The time he spent in Bolivia with Steyn was one of only 11 full months in the past 96 — eight years — in which he has not played cricket.

Small wonder De Kock was relieved when Smith said in April that, because of his already demanding workload, he would not succeed Faf du Plessis as Test captain. “Me and [South Africa coach Mark Boucher] had a very informal chat,” De Kock said on Saturday. “I told him, look, I don’t know how I feel about being Test captain also. The reality is that’s just too much for me to handle. I know that and I realise that. I don’t need all that stress on myself. I could see from a mile away that I didn’t need that on top of my shoulders.”

Besides, having the white-ball leadership thrust on him in the throes of the tumult cricket in South Africa has been though on and off the field in recent months was challenging enough. Along with a new captain, the team has welcomed a new coach, and his backroom staff, twice since the World Cup. The chief executive is among seven suspended senior staff members, four board members resigned, and longterm sponsors severed ties.

A measure of the solid repair job Faul is doing was the announcement on Thursday of a new headline sponsor, Betway, for the men’s Test and ODI formats, the men’s T20 team and the women’s teams. But CSA have a long way to go before they can consider themselves out of the woods. And even though they expect to record a profit this year — not least because operations have been severely scaled down. For instance, staging Saturday’s awards online instead of shelling out for a venue and for the travel, accommodation, wining and dining costs of hundreds of guests probably saved CSA around USD117,000.

Players tend to try and remove themselves from all that, but they are not immune to the effects of instability, as De Kock explained: “There were a lot of changes, especially after the World Cup. Faf had a lot of pressure put on him, and my thing was to make sure I back him. It was difficult. But I found a way, mentally, to get past it.

“Playing for a high-profile cricket team you go through so many changes at so many different times that it almost becomes the norm to get past the difficult times. So it was difficult at stages but we got through it, which is the important thing.”

Doubtless a fishing rod and a stretch of water helped De Kock reach that peace.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Minister lashes CSA’s unbearable whiteness

“The only people with merit are white. I take exception to that.” – Nathi Mthethwa lets fly at Chris Nenzani.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

THE whiteness of the most visible echelon of cricket in South Africa has become unbearable at government level. Transformation targets are being met on the field, but paleness persists in other, prominent areas. And Nathi Mthethwa, the minister of sport, didn’t hold back in his criticism on Friday.

At an online presentation to the parliamentary sport, arts and culture committee, CSA president Chris Nenzani was asked whether transformation was going backwards considering acting chief executive Jacques Faul, director of cricket Graeme Smith, and men’s team head coach Mark Boucher and batting consultant Jacques Kallis are all white. Nenzani’s reply was that they had been appointed on merit and not because of their race.

Charl Langeveldt and Justin Ontong, the men’s team’s bowling and fielding coaches, are coloured, what mixed race South Africans call themselves. But the only black African on the men’s coaching staff is Boucher’s assistant, Enoch Nkwe — despite the fact that black Africans comprise more than 80% of South Africa’s population.

Mthethwa hit back later in the meeting: “I felt insulted with your [Nenzani’s] intervention when you said you only take people on merit‚” Mthethwa said. “You look at the CEO, you look at the director [of cricket], you look at the [head] coach, you will find the deputy being an African, you look at the batting specialist, and you come and say to the nation, ‘No, there’s nothing wrong; there’re no regress in transformation.’.

“I feel particularly insulted by that. It says that there’s a particular posture which is being taken; that you have Africans elsewhere in other areas and not at the core.

“I’m not going to be smiling at that kind of statement. Does it mean that after 26 years [since South Africa’s first democratic elections]‚ there hasn’t been anybody who hasn’t been able to fill one of these positions? The only people with merit are white. I take exception to that.”

Only three of CSA’s 10 presidents, including acting officials, have been white and they have had two black African chief executives in Gerald Majola and Thabang Moroe, while Nkwe was the acting head coach — officially the “interim team director” — on South Africa’s tour to India in October. But Nenzani, who has been in office since February 2013, is widely despised as an obfuscating lame duck, Majola was fired for not properly declaring bonuses, Moroe is currently suspended on allegations of misconduct and Nkwe was effectively demoted to make way for Boucher.

Cricket’s relationship with race is at a delicate stage, not least because solutions to problems run into by blacks have tended to be provided by whites. The experience that whites have accumulated in the decades during which blacks’ progress on and off the field was criminalised by apartheid legislation is an important reason why that has happened. Apartheid’s lingering legacy still skews every aspect of life in whites’ favour,.

But that doesn’t stop cricket’s racist quarters, which bristle with malevolence on social media, from proclaiming their superiority and sowing distrust about the abilities of blacks in the game. It also doesn’t stop blacks from wondering whether they are being wilfully sidelined by whites who think only they know what’s best for cricket.

The divergent reaction to the contrasting fates suffered by Moroe, who is black, and Clive Eksteen, who is white, illustrate this starkly. Many blacks defend Moroe fervently as if there is no chance he has done anything wrong despite strong suggestions to the contrary. Many whites consider him an inept crook.

CSA said last Sunday they had sacked Clive Eksteen as head of sales and sponsorship because, Eksteen said, he cost them USD100,000 in lost revenue. He says he will challenge that decision on the grounds that he did not make the choice that led to the losses. But legions of whites are not waiting for the end of the process to proclaim Eksteen innocence loudly and completely. Blacks have largely maintained an indifferent silence on the issue.

Had Moroe said that “everything has been okayed” for a match at Centurion next Saturday despite South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown regulations, and had his assertion overturned, his head would have been demanded far and wide.

Smith said exactly that on Wednesday, and by Saturday the 3TC Solidarity Cup had been postponed because the government had not given the go ahead. It’s an error that shouldn’t cost Smith his job. And it’s not as if he has got a lot wrong since his appointment in December.

But that won’t preclude people from surmising that Smith and Moroe operate under different sets of rules. “You must be able to see that,” they will say. “It’s there. In black and white.”

First published by Cricbuzz.

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