Cricket World Cup flop ‘CEO, board’s doing’

Thabang Moroe and Cricket SA’s (CSA’s) board appear to be directly responsible for the circumstances that led to the poor performance of the Proteas at the World Cup.

This is according to a report released by the team’s brains trust after the World Cup.

The “sign-off” rights conferred on Moroe by the board on February 1, the feud between CSA and the players union, the South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca), the failure to allow players to return from the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier and a U-turn on the promise to renew team coach Otis Gibson’s contract are some of the reasons advanced for South Africa’s World Cup misery.

The report was compiled and submitted by team captain Faf du Plessis, team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee and Gibson, shortly after the World Cup in England, where South Africa managed to win only three out of their nine games.

The controversial Moroe, who was last week Friday suspended as CEO by the CSA board, appears to be the chief protagonist in the report, even though he is not mentioned by name.

“The decision by the board on February 1 that the chief executive officer must ‘sign off’ on teams was not well received by players and was seen as interference,” the report states.

A copy of this report has been seen by City Press’s sister publication Rapport.

This privilege afforded to Moroe was subsequently withdrawn.

“Thankfully, sober minds prevailed and the board’s decision was overturned.”

In addition, Gibson was allegedly informed that his contract, which was set to expire after the World Cup, would be renewed. In March, Moroe and Corrie van Zyl, then the head of cricket, reiterated this undertaking to Gibson.

According to the report, this decision was overturned and Gibson was only informed of this the day after the Proteas’ departure to the World Cup on May 19. The report described the timing of this decision as “very poor”.

In cricket circles, it’s no secret that Gibson threw a spanner into the works that were meant to give Moroe the final say over the team.

But it wasn’t only the head coach who went to England with uncertainty about his future. In the report, Moosajee, Gibson and Du Plessis said that the logistics manager, Volvo Masubelele; the physiotherapist, Craig Govender; the security officer, Zunaid Wadee; and the team’s analyst, Prasanna Agoram, were also uncertain about their contracts.

Shortly before the tournament it was also reported that Saca had filed court papers to prevent CSA from restructuring domestic cricket. The plan would have seen the six franchise teams increase to twelve premier league teams. It was believed that the decision would lead to 70 career cricketers losing their jobs.

According to the report, the dispute between Saca and CSA was “regrettable”.

“As much as we tried to downplay it, it influenced the team environment.”

The biggest issue that the report addresses is CSA’s failure to ensure that key players were released from the IPL sooner, as the coach, team management and medical personnel had requested.

This led to an insufficient recovery period for players, too little time with their families, emotional burnout, less practice time and a greater risk of injury.

It also meant that players like Du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Imran Tahir, who played in the final, were two days late for the final practice. They had to join the team directly after arriving from India.

A preparatory training camp was initially planned for May 11 to 19, but as a result of players having to play in the IPL final, the camp could only begin on May 13.

Various activities, such as practice matches, batting practice and team-building exercises had to be cancelled.

The national team requested that Protea players be allowed to return from the IPL earlier, in a similar vein to what Cricket Australia and the English cricket board had done. This request was turned down by the IPL and the Indian board, and no support was received from CSA.

The trio that compiled the report said this was the reason for what was the worst preparation by the national team in the last three World Cup tournaments.

Kagiso Rabada was only released earlier because of an injury. But it now appears that his IPL team, the Delhi Capitals, underplayed the seriousness of his injury.

His enormous workload was cited as one of the main reasons for his lukewarm performance at the World Cup.

The report noted that he was responsible for more overs than any other player at that stage of their career and that there was a decline in his World Cup bowling speed (in comparison to the Pakistan series), which indicates that his workload had led to burnout and poor performances.

It suggested that CSA review the manner in which it manages its quota requirements, so players like Rabada and Lungi Ngidi can be properly rested.

Moosajee, Gibson and Du Plessis also recommended quicker decision-making in respect of issues such as contracts and the IPL.

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