South Africa government suspends CSA; takes control of cricket in the nation

The South African government, on Thursday, September 10, suspended Cricket South Africa (CSA) and has taken full control of their cricket. The development could well get the African nation suspended as it doesn’t fall under the rules set by the International Cricket Council (ICC), regarding government interference.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) wrote a letter to the CSA, demanding that  “the CSA board and those senior executives who serve ex-officio on the board (the company secretary, the acting CEO, the CFO and the COO) are directed to step aside from the administration of CSA on full pay”.

The SASCOC termed “many instances of maladministration and malpractice that have occurred since at least December 2019”.

South Africa cricket in trouble

“This has manifestly caused great concern and consternation amongst your own members, former and current members of the national team of the Proteas, stakeholders, sponsors, and members of the cricket-loving public,” the letter said, reported by Cricbuzz.

“There can be no doubt that this has caused cricket to lose the trust and confidence of members of the public, stakeholders, sponsors and the players represented by SACA [the South African Cricketers’ Association]. All this has brought cricket into disrepute.”

“SASCOC has attempted to address these issues in two meetings with the CSA board: one was exploratory, and the other failed to take place mainly because of the fact that CSA failed to make the… forensic report available to the SASCOC board despite promises and undertakings by CSA to do so. CSA is in receipt of our letter which records that the board’s decision to make the said report available only on a limited basis to the president and board members of SASCOC, is wholly unreasonable and irrational given the apparent nature and scope of the report.”

Cricket South Africa has had to go through loads of turbulence after a number of their prominent members had to step aside due to charges of corruption. Back in August, their Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Thabang Moroe was fired for misconduct after an independent investigation found him guilty.

Back in July 2019, the ICC handed Zimbabwe and Nepal with suspensions due to government interference. However, after a board meeting in October in Dubai, the two teams were re-instated as the ICC members. If and when the ICC takes a call on South Africa cricket remains to be seen.

The controversies surrounding the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement have also created commotion in their cricket fraternity. As far as on-field performances are concerned, they have been shambolic as well. They couldn’t qualify for the 2019 World Cup and also lost the home Tests to England 1-3.