This has been a most unhappy chapter for SA cricket. The influence of former independent director Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw and the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) commission has had a calamitous impact on the game.
Incredibly, the Proteas teams, their captains, coaches and support staff were able to shrug off their presence. The Proteas have set the example of inclusivity, transparency and the art of having hard conversations. Nothing is more challenging in our country now. The Proteas have rich character and leadership and no personal agendas, just a singular team goal.
The two separate factions of the media, whether formal or social, have hardened their approaches, increasing the divide over the Graeme Smith-Mark Boucher issue. The damage is real. Trying to find a positive unifying path appears to be naive or impossible. However, the Cricket SA board must. That is its single most important task.
The race card is so easily played, yet scars remain despite exoneration. Boucher and Smith have our deep sympathy for their pain and suffering. Yet they still want to serve. That is an amazing example of their boundless dedication to SA and the sport they love.
After the tentative SJN findings, a process could have been initiated with hard conversations between the accused and accusers. The charge sheets were prepared too hastily. While legal processes might have been inevitable, they should be the last resort. Many accusations were left dangling and there was little understanding of context of these submissions, which led to a media frenzy for many months. The board should learn the lessons learnt from the ineffectual SJN.
High accountability
The single benefit of the SJN should have been the cathartic opportunity of former players to share their painful stories and put them on public record. Yet while certain submissions were flawed, the SJN process did reveal the historical inadequacies of the Proteas teams’ and the executives’ processes and abilities to deal with issues as they arose. Those red flags have been raised. However, the board should investigate whether these desired better practices are already in place, as the teams seem so settled and purposeful.
Being a national sport’s director comes with high levels of accountability, exposure and national expectation. The slings and arrows of disagreement come swiftly from millions of passionate fans and the media, as is the case now.
However, to be a sports administrator, in the heart of the game, is electric. Bev, my wife, said to David Richardson, then the CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC), when we were in Dubai: “You know David, you don’t have to pay him. Vince will do this for nothing!”
Bev was not too far off. I loved my role as the ICC global match officials’ manager, the responsibility and being involved in the international game. It was a rare privilege. It made me feel so alive, despite the crises and criticisms. We at the ICC were fortunate because we had a full complement of executive managers and staff.
There lies the rub. Cricket SA is still five senior executive managers shy, filled in an acting capacity. It is running on half empty. CEO Pholetsi Moseki was only recently permanently employed.
Best of the best
HR issues still linger after the disciplining of Thabang Moroe, Kugandrie Govender and Welsh Gwasa. Certain of the already-filled executive positions should be re-advertised, as the director of cricket’s role was, for the incumbents and others to reapply. We need the best of the best.
Cricket cannot heal the pain of the past but it can ensure that that pain is not felt by future generations. The ANC government finds itself similarly challenged. Fortunately, Cricket SA is in a compact environment, with all its fans, cricketers and sponsors backing the independent board to be successful. The board does have the skills to reset SA cricket.
The most pressing issue for the CEO is the employment of those five executives. The requisite skills and experience of the candidates are merely a CV starting point.
In his book Fit, Warren Kennaugh, a behaviour strategist in elite performance, writes: “The more an individual’s strengths, characteristics, skill set and values fit with the requirements of a role, and with the organisation itself, the higher the performance will be. However, the notion of fit is almost exclusively ignored in favour of talent, intelligence and some other holy grail of performance.”
Kennaugh outlines that organisations need to know the candidate’s patterns of behaviour, derailers and values, preferences and motives. That book debunks many current HR practices.
The selection of the five executives is urgent and vital. Only then will the Cricket SA executive be in a position to focus purely on cricket. The board will finally be able to separate from the executive and provide strategy, oversee good governance and be the custodians of the game.
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