Cricket South Africa chairman: ‘A very sad day for our country, cricket’

The maladministration in African cricketing bodies has been a matter of concern for decades. The recent turmoil caused by government intervention in Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) had the board banned by the ICC.

Since Zimbabwe managed to gain its permanent member status back, South African cricket has majorly suffered due to the board. The current interim board has been functioning at the mercy of the government for quite a while now.

The Sports minister had previously agreed to let the interim Cricket South Africa (CSA) board, with former Test captain Graeme Smith as the director of cricket, carry on its functioning.

However, the country’s government implemented its power to intervene in the functioning of the national cricketing board, something that CSA’s chairman Stavros Nicolaou has termed as their cricket’s “greatest crisis” since the end of apartheid.

Cricket South Africa’s interim board said on Friday it had received notice from sports minister Nathi Mthethwa that he had invoked a section of law allowing the government to take decisions out of the hands of sports officials when disputes can’t be resolved.

“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. But it is a specifically sad day for the players, staff and others whose livelihood are at stake,” Nicolaou said.

“These actions have now brought the game to its knees and will cause the greatest crisis since (South Africa’s international) readmission.”

The current state of affairs, with the recent disputes in the picture, is harrowing for the country and its cricketers and, of course, the fans.