A large number of Proteas men’s and women’s players have released a statement of concern regarding the current state of affairs at Cricket South Africa.
The 16 men and 14 women, all with national contracts, take strong aim at the governing body – saying CSA ‘has lurched from crisis to crisis over the past year’.
The statement comes after the organisation’s annual general meeting, scheduled for this coming Saturday, was postponed on Monday with the hope to review certain sections of its corporate governance.
COLUMN: AGM postponement a blessing for CSA
Given the strains of an already testing operational environment due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of a number of men’s and women’s tours, the players are severely worried about all the drama that has unfolded within CSA in recent weeks.
‘Issues such as suspensions, dismissals, resignations, forensic audits, confidential leaks, litigation and financial mismanagement have dominated the cricket headlines. This is happening at a time when we are having challenging conversations about transformation, and in an environment where the financial viability of the game is under major threat,’ the statement read.
Last week CSA officially terminated the contract of suspended CEO Thabang Moroe after a forensic report presented more than enough reason for his dismissal, while two weeks ago Chris Nenzani resigned from his role as president of the organisation before acting CEO Jacques Faul also vacated his role a few hours later.
The forensic report is believed to have raised a number of serious issues of misconduct at board level by CSA members, but can only be viewed by the organisation’s member council if members sign a non-disclosure agreement.
The players also called for a drastic approach to hasten the game’s transformation process across South Africa as they fear the sport could suffer complete collapse if urgent steps are not taken.
‘This may be the last chance we have to change direction and save the game. As Proteas we demand that all stakeholders heed our sincere plea,’ their statement concluded.
The 30 player signees of the statement: Aiden Markram, Andile Phehlukwayo, Anrich Nortje, Ayabonga Khaka, Beuran Hendricks, Chloe Tryon, Dané van Niekerk, David Miller, Dean Elgar, Dwaine Pretorius, Faf du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Lungi Ngidi, Marizanne Kapp, Masabatha Klaas, Mignon du Preez, Nadine de Klerk, Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Sune Luus, Tabraiz Shamzi, Temba Bavuma, Trisha Chetty, Tumi Sekhukhune.
