Cricket South Africa has suspended interim director of cricket Corrie van Zyl, chief operating officer Naasei Appiah and commercial manager Clive Eksteen.

The suspensions have come after the South African Cricketers’ Association launched a formal dispute with CSA over unpaid fees for last year’s inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League.

‘The board and management of CSA have recently become aware of an unfortunate situation involving players and player contracts, through player intermediary the South African Cricketers’ Association, in which speculation and indeed allegations of dereliction were levelled against CSA, following alleged non-payment of player fees, stemming from the Mzansi Super League arrangement, in 2018,’ read a statement from CSA.

‘CSA is in the process of investigating this matter to determine the extent to which certain CSA employees were or were not derelict in fulfilling their duties. This is in line with the effort of ensuring that the principle of accountability is applied equally, fairly and without fear or favour throughout the organisation.

‘While the investigation of this matter is in progress, employees who are alleged to have been involved in this matter have been placed on precautionary suspension until the investigation is completed, following which disciplinary action could be instituted against the affected employees.

New issue: Bavuma – one size fits all

‘While CSA regrets this unfortunate situation, as an organisation that promotes good governance and excellence in performance, we are pleased to report that, once uncovered, CSA successfully and quickly addressed this situation with SACA. In this regard an agreement was wherein all fees due to players will be transferred to SACA with immediate effect and through this mutual agreement, CSA and SACA have averted all potential interruptions to the game of cricket.

‘CSA assures the players, our stakeholders and all cricket fans at large that any kind of lapse in its processes which adversely impacts the game of cricket will be addressed accordingly.’

The second edition of the MSL will start later this month.

Photo: Gallo Images