Former Proteas captain Graeme Smith has been interviewed for the director of cricket position advertised by Cricket South Africa.
Suspended interim director of cricket Corrie van Zyl and former national selector Hussein Manack were also interviewed this week.
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The director of cricket position was created after the Proteas’ plighted World Cup campaign earlier this year. They won three matches, lost five and shared a washout with the West Indies – and ended in seventh position in the 10-team tournament.
Head coach Ottis Gibson and team manager Mohammed Moosajee’s tenures were not renewed after the 2019 World Cup, with a team director and director of cricket post subsequently introduced.
Cricket South Africa listed the management of business strategy, strategic relationships, finances, human resources and transformation among the key responsibilities for the director of cricket job.
Van Zyl, meanwhile, has been suspended alongside 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 late last month.
‘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.
‘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.’
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