CSA’s new CEO Thabang Moroe has revealed his leadership credentials by taking a firm but fair line in terms of player relations.

During his tenure, there have been testing issues such as the ill-fated T20 Global League and the protracted negotiations around the signing of the new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between CSA and the South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca), which is due to be signed imminently following a two-and-a-half month delay.

‘I can assure you there was never a divide between us and players,’ confirmed Moroe. ‘That was the perception out there created by some individuals, but there has never been a divide between myself and the Proteas men’s team, and there has never been a divide — certainly as far as I know — between myself and the franchise players.

‘In fact, players that were confused in terms of what they were reading [in the media] did pick up the phone and call me to find out exactly what was meant by the quotes that were written. I did clear things up for the players and I did tell them what my stance is and what it is I was hoping to achieve. I certainly had the players’ support and some of the players even came to the offices to visit me and to find out where I was,’ said Moroe.

Moroe added that he had travelled to Mumbai to meet with Faf du Plessis prior to the opening match of the IPL in order to discuss a number of issues.

‘He reiterated the support I had from him and the rest of the team, so there was never a divide. There was confusion caused but there was never a divide, so there really was no bridge for me to cross,’ said Moroe.

The CEO emphasised that CSA’s primary aim was to reaffirm the employer-employee relationship between the players and Cricket South Africa and to ensure that an appropriate relationship exists between them. He also highlighted the importance of players following a set protocol if they are unhappy with any aspect of their employment with CSA.

‘Their first point of call is us, but from then on if we should not reach consensus, then players can go to Saca. Should we not reach consensus with Saca, we have a process put in place for dispute resolution,’ said Moroe.

Moroe has faced some tough challenges during his term as interim CEO, but he seems to be putting the correct procedures in place in terms of player relations. However, his bigger challenge will be ensuring that CSA pulls off a successful T20 Global League.

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