The patience and clarity demonstrated by the minister of sport will be long remembered and applauded. This is the first time in living memory that cricket welcomed the South African government’s intervention in sport.
The South African cricket family, however, will remember those on the members’ council who have placed self-interest above the needs of the game. Their earlier voting against the interim board’s proposals was simply the last stand of the “bittereinders” as they stood steadfast against the wishes of all cricket writers, players, sponsors, fans and social media commentators. The members’ council epitomised the emperor who wore no clothes.
The global playbook of those modern leaders desperately hanging on to power includes blaming others, stubbornly digging one’s heels in and calling for lawyers. The members’ council used these to the full. There was no honour and eventually they had to be dragged across the line.
This is not the time for jubilation, just relief that the minister did not have to use his considerable powers that would have taken SA cricket back even more.
Let us be clear. We have taken merely the first step in this mighty journey and that little shuffle took a year.
We must applaud the work of the Cricket SA management in keeping the sport steadfastly on track despite the chaos raining on them from above with an intentionally disruptive members’ council leadership undermining them at every turn. They are running almost on empty without a permanent CEO or commercial manager.
The sheer will of director of cricket Graeme Smith and his team, the women and men Proteas players, coaches and management together with the hard-working Cricket SA and provincial staff have done an extraordinary job. Let us remember them in dispatches. They have kept cricket central to their purpose while so many leaders abrogated their duties.
Now is the serious business of reshaping the Cricket SA memorandum of understanding to lead us out of this decade of decay.
It is unlikely that the members’ council can alter the course of changing the memorandum of understanding, as they did 10 years ago, when they stood back from the Nicholson commission. Had they not done so, Cricket SA would be similar to Cricket NZ, who introduced a slim professional board in 2013 and have grown from strength to strength and qualified in the ICC Test Championship final.
Our nation has that healing DNA within us, as we have previously demonstrated. We need that to refuel those empty tanks in the old-fashioned way — selfless hard work, honour, skill, generosity and forgiveness.
As Bishop Desmond Tutu wrote: “Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering — remembering and not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a new beginning.”
Nelson Mandela said: “We must strive to be moved by a generosity of spirit that will enable us to outgrow the conflicts of the past.”
The journey of renewal has just begun.
Changing the structure does not change the culture. The right leadership does. Populating the new board with men and women who are visionary leaders and skilled professional practitioners is the next crucial step. If we fail to select the right directors, all the hard work over the last year will be washed away.
Skilled, independent directors who revere the game will help us find a new way in this diverse, complicated yet magnificent country. Those provincial presidents who either abstained or voted against the interim board recommendations should be excluded to prevent them further disrupting the restoration process.
“Cricket people” is a much-bandied about term, often misused. Every director does not need to have played cricket at a high level or even administered the game to be effective. All directors, however, must treasure the game. There has to be a blend to include those who have played at the top level and those who understand navigating the game in the global context. It will be like selecting a cricket team to have the right balance to play in all conditions at both the professional and amateur level.
A happy cricket environment, a powerful Cricket SA brand with Proteas teams united and strong, esteemed sponsors and a great following of fans will unfold with the right board and Cricket SA executive leadership. Achieve that and players will remain and live their dream of playing for the Proteas and inspire the next generations.
A refreshed environment will stop the player drain overseas or players turning their backs on the Proteas to play on the lucrative international circuit. We must learn from the lessons of the past.
The future beckons. We see a ray of light ahead.
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