Former South African skipper Graeme Smith has agreed to be Cricket South Africa’s first director of cricket, with a formal announcement to be made on Wednesday. In what has been a controversy-filled last few weeks for South African cricket, the big news is expected to bring some sort of cheer as the Proteas have been struggling both on and off the field.
Smith had initially been interviewed for the role of director of cricket last month, but later withdrew after news of misgovernance in the CSA was doing rounds. The position had previously been held by the former coach of the side Corrie van Zyl, who is now suspended.
Last weekend, Sunday Times reported stating that Smith, one of South Africa’s most successful skippers, was back in the running as director, following which negotiations between the left-hander and the board seem to have been sealed. CSA President Chris Nenzani said on Saturday at a briefing that Smith had agreed that the contractual negotiations about him taking over the new role should end by
Wednesday.
The other big news is that Jacques Faul has been appointed as the acting CSA CEO, effective immediately. This last week, former CSA CEO Thabang Moroe was suspended amid recent problems in the board. He will be suspended for a period of six months, during which an internal review process will be conducted by an independent authority.
The CSA will continue their nomination process to replace the independent board members that have resigned since last week, namely Iqbal Khan, Prof Shirley Zinn and Dawn Mokhobo.
They will also get in touch with the South Africa Cricketers’ Association (SACA) to talk about the restructuring of domestic cricket. ‘We will engage the players so that we can have a common approach and common goal going forward. CSA and Saca need to get to a point where matters are dealt with,’ Nenzani announced.
