A country that has produced virtuosos of the sport like Jonty Rhodes, Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, the White Lightning, Makhaya Ntini, and countless other appellations who reigned supreme in the cricketing fraternity is now slowly entering into a vortex of entropy that will only be bringing darkness. The Rainbow Nation’s cricketing spectacle has been jeopardized as its government has decided to interfere with its cricketing outfit, CSA.
The South African government has decided to interfere in the country’s cricket fraternity that has left an infamous mark of dilapidation that is insidiously seeping into the fabric of the sport. According to a few top journalists, this is the biggest crisis that the nation will be facing since apartheid.
Cricket South Africa’s interim cricket board has confirmed that it has received notice from its sports minister, Nathi Mthethwa that he had invoked a section of the law that allows the government to take decisions that are beyond the hands of the sports officials when disputes cannot be resolved.
The ICC has previously infamously banned countries from participating in international tournaments whenever such devolution has happened in any cricketing spectacle.
The apex cricketing body of the world is still to confirm the receipt of any complaint about the government of the nation taking matters into their own hands.
Stavros Nicolaou, chairman of CSA’s makeshift board, cited, “It is indeed a very sad day for our country, for cricket, for the millions of fans who love the game and the sponsors who have committed to cricket and its grassroots development.”
He continued, “But it is a specifically sad day for the players, staff and others whose livelihood are at stake.”
This is what led to the trouble between CSA and their government
As the reports state, the government and the CSA’s interim board are working in close collaboration to preclude the formation of a third body which will encompass the decision-making members of CSA.
The members’ council is constituted by 14 presidents of South Africa’s provincial cricket unions. They refuted the changes in a clandestine vote where a 75 percent majority was made the mandate.
Six members voted in favour of the changes wherein five voted against and three abstained from voting thereby stalling a month-old procedure of restructuring South African cricket. This chaos in the system led to the South African sports minister taking control.
Talking about the failed vote, CSA’s interim board cited, “It is deeply disappointing that a self-interested vocal minority voted against change while three members chose to abstain.”
They continued, “These actions have now brought the game to its knees and will cause the greatest crisis since (South Africa’s international) readmission.”
CSA has been scourged by indirect infringements from the government several times but it kissed its ace last year when chief executive Thabang Moroe and other officials were shown the exit for misconduct and an inquest divulged the failure of the previous board in overseeing its duties.
Since then the CSA president and a stopgap chief executive have renounced their positions and a second makeshift chief executive was shown the door after alleged misconduct.
Alongside the new political jeopardy that CSA has found themselves in, there is also a growing financial crisis that has left the cricketing spectrum of the nation in dilapidation.
South African Test captain, Dean Elgar, and limited-overs skipper, Temba Bavuma came together in the face of a threat that looms in front of them, challenging their livelihood and issued a statement which quoted, “Government intervention in the sport will have dire consequences, the full extent of which we do not yet know.”
