The new nine-person Cricket South Africa (CSA) board chaired by Judge Zak Yacoob met for five hours on Monday night and have already laid out a framework to tackle cricket’s myriad problems.

After months of corporate governance failures that stemmed from shortcomings of the previous leadership of former CEO Thabang Moroe and president Chris Nenzani, which filtered toxically through the entire organisation, the mammoth task of turning CSA around has begun.

The problems are vast and varied and the new board worked systematically through some of the most important issues at its first meeting. 

Sub-committees were set up to investigate areas such as media and stakeholder relations, representation at the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the implementations of the Nicholson report, among others.

The Nicholson report was the end result of a 2011-2012 investigation into CSA, which, at the time, recommended that the majority of the board consist of independent directors to avoid conflicts of interest. This was never done. 

It was never done because then sports minister Fikile Mbalula favoured sports administrators sorting out their own issues. His stance was supported by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc). 

As a result, CSA only ever had a maximum of four independent directors on its board, which eventually led to what Nicholson warned against – self-interest and conflicts trumping good corporate governance.

The members council, as the highest decision-making body in South African cricket, had long been conflicted because half of its members were also on the CSA board. 

Newly appointed to the CSA Interim Board, lawyer and governance expert, Judith February, said: “We will do everything possible to ensure that those responsible for misdeeds and bringing the game and the organisation into disrepute, are held to account. The new board also looks forward to working shoulder-to-shoulder with CSA’s dedicated employees who have never lost sight of the organisation’s mandate to develop and uplift cricket. Taking immediate action is paramount to the progress of the game as we enter a busy cricketing season.”

The key areas, which the new board will tackle are:

Appointment of the board: The memorandum of incorporation (MOI) would be amended to facilitate the appointment of the board. This would reflect the agreement reached between the members’ council and Mthethwa, last week. The board presides over a transition period to deal with corporate governance failures which had taken place within CSA, and will further manage the nominations process for a new board to take its place.

The minister’s referral: It was agreed that transformation, and growing the women’s game, were two specific aspects of the minister’s brief. These were issues for longer-term consideration even as they infuse all current discussions.

Lines of authority: In terms of the current MOI, CSA members council is the highest decision-making authority in South African cricket. The board, therefore, accounts to the members council. However, the board clarified the lines of authority between itself, the members council, and executive management. The board is responsible for all operational matters within CSA, with the executive management reporting directly to the board and not the members council.

The Nicholson report: The board revisited this report and is determined to focus on the restructuring of CSA, specifically the Nicholson recommendations regarding board composition. On this, the board discussed two options: one being a nine-member board as recommended in the Nicholson report, and the second, being a smaller board. Both options would have a majority of independent members and an independent chair. The members council has already held consultations regarding both these options. The members council and the board will engage on the issue in the next few days, with the view to amending the MOI quickly and with due care.

Domestic restructuring of cricket: The board considered Dave Richardson’s recommendations regarding restructuring the men’s domestic game. This discussion will be ongoing between the board, the members council, and the South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca). The board mandated Haroon Lorgat, Omphile Ramela and Andre Odendaal to engage with the members council as well as the cricket committee on this issue.   

ICC presidency: A discussion ensued regarding South Africa’s view on the ICC presidency given that the vote on this is imminent. The two candidates are Greg Barclay of New Zealand and Imran Khwaja of Singapore. In addition to a discussion on the merits of each candidate and the implications for CSA, the board discussed who the appropriate representative of CSA should be at the ICC. The chair will discuss this as a matter of urgency with the acting CSA president, Rihan Richards, this week. The board is of the view that one of its members ought to represent South Africa at the ICC. 

Fundudzi report: The board discussed certain aspects of the report and has tasked a small sub-committee comprised of Judge Yacoob, Dawn Mbatha, Judith February and Caroline Mampuru to assess the implications of the report and the action which needs to be taken. The board resolved to take independent legal advice regarding the process for action which will arise from the report. The sub-committee will also discuss making the report public. 

Media concerns: The board discussed ways in which the damaged reputation of CSA could be restored. Regrettably, the relationship between CSA and the media has broken down. Urgent steps will be taken to restore that relationship and also to provide comfort to the media, the players, employees and cricket fans that the focus will be on restarting the season while the board works to bring governance stability. The board specifically noted the dissatisfaction expressed by many journalists and cricket fans regarding the four-day matches, which had commenced, but were not being broadcast live. February will be the board member tasked with gaining an understanding of the capacity and competency within CSA to deal with media and its stakeholders. She will make recommendations to the board with a view to improve communications and repair the reputational damage CSA has suffered. 

At an executive level though, most of the role players that have been part of CSA’s problems over the past few years, remain in positions of power. The new board has been given an initial period of three months to set the organisation on a steady course, which might still require some blood-letting at operational and executive level.

The issue of the restructured season is vital because it has a direct bearing on players’ livelihoods as well as on scheduling and budgets.

There are massive decisions that need to be made around the restructuring of the domestic game, to take it from six teams back to eight. Insiders say that even with the new board in place, they’re not sure how it can and will be done effectively. 

Former SA player and ICC CEO Davie Richardson led a review into changing the structure of the game and gave his recommendations to CSA in March.

The amount of teams playing in the domestic 2020-2021 competitions will not change, but from 2021-2022 the idea is to increase the number by two teams.

Saca, who filed court papers in 2019 to stop Moroe’s plan to change the structure to 14 teams, are not opposed to an eight-team format. But there are significant challenges around that plan.

Who are the two new teams? Where will they be based? How will they be funded and coached? These are just some of the questions around the situation that need clarity.

At least, though, there is a board in place that is willing to address these, and other questions. After years of mismanagement and paralysis, it’s a step forward. DM