Cape Town – Former Proteas captain Shaun Pollock has called out Cricket South Africa (CSA), urging the organisation to move quickly to appoint a new Director of Cricket (DOC).
To say that these are uncertain times for cricket in the country is an understatement, and there are a number if issues at play that have raised concern over the immediate future of the game.
CSA remains in hundreds of millions of Rands in debt, it is in an ongoing legal battle with the South African Cricketers Association (SACA) over a proposed domestic restructure, it is battling to turn the Mzansi Super League into a lucrative product and then just last month it suspended three senior officials – Corrie van Zyl, Clive Eksteen and Naasei Appiah – in bizarre fashion.
The more pressing concern, though, is that there is currently nobody operating in the director of cricket (DOC) role with England’s visit to South Africa over the festive season for four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is now one month away.
Van Zyl had been serving as the acting (DOC), but he is now suspended.
Graeme Smith had been strongly linked to the role before removing his interest two weeks ago, citing a “frustrating” experience with the CSA leadership, and CSA was then understood to be negotiating with another potential candidate on Friday.
The organisation through its CEO Thabang Moroe had stated publicly that an announcement on the role would be made on Friday, but that announcement never came.
Speaking to Netwerk24, former skipper Pollock said that CSA needed to move quickly in resolving the leadership around the Proteas.
“I don’t know how the DOC role will work when everything is put in place, but with a massive series against England just around the corner, things need to happen quickly so that plans can be put in place for that tour,” Pollock said.
Pollock added that whoever came into the role should not be expected to perform miracles overnight.
“Sports situations in South Africa, as with most things, are complex and the DOC will have to understand the sensitivity of the country and South African cricket,” Pollock said.
“It might be too ambitious to think that too much of a change happen.”
Pollock believes that the national team needs to rebuilt after losing a number of key players over the last two years.
“When the management is set up, smart choices need to be made with good game plans,” said Pollock, who played 108 Test matches and 303 ODIs, said.
“This tour of England is going to be a big one and will be indicative of what this South African team is capable of.”
While there is still no clarity on the DOC role, Enoch Nkwe is expected to continue is his capacity as interim team director for the England series.
– Compiled by Lloyd Burnard
