Sri Lanka's Neil Mac 'leg up'

Why SA coach is assisting the opposition.

    In under two weeks South Africa will begin a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka which could be pivotal in deciding which of the two countries plays in the World Test Championship final in early June next year, most likely against Australia. With so much at stake it seems inconceivable that one of the home nations most valuable assets will be working with the opposition.

    In fact, Neil McKenzie is already working with an advance party of Test specialists from the island, so determined are they to replicate their success of four years and reignite the passion for Test cricket in the country with a visit to Lord’s on June 11.

    McKenzie played 124 times for his country including 58 Tests, excelling as opener in the second half of his career which include an innings of 226 in a record first wicket partnership of 415 with Graeme Smith. But it as a batting coach for the last six or seven years that he has really formed an international reputation.

    Various domestic roles were followed by a stint with Bangladesh and, most recently, with the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 under Tom Moody and the Northern Super Chargers working with Andrew Flintoff last year in The Hundred.

    Before that he was appointed by CSA’s then Director Cricket, Graeme Smith, in an all-encompassing role as ‘batting lead’ working with everyone from the national under-19 team, the SA ‘A’ squad to Franchise players and the Proteas. But red-tape and some outdated philosophies on ‘conflict of interest’ brought that to an end over two years ago.

    “The Rand was to blame,” McKenzie says with a wry smile, attempting to simplify a much longer story. “CSA were limited in what they could pay me so I needed to supplement my salary with some commentary work and a couple of league assignments, but that was seen as a conflict, so unfortunately my time came to an end.”

    Since then a burst of common sense has prevailed and the ‘rules’ have changed – current Proteas Test batting coach, Ashwell Prince, is also a regular TV pundit with Supersport. “I’m pleased it’s happened, it just wasn’t in time for me. We need to have flexibility to keep our best coaches in the system, just as we do with the players by allowing them to play in Franchise leagues around the world,” McKenzie said.

    The inevitable, hypothetical question arises now: What if his expertise as a coach makes the difference between Sri Lanka and South Africa winning? Sri Lanka experiencing a resurgence of passion for Test cricket rather than his country? Might that be a more significant conflict than coaching and commentating?

    “I experienced it before with Bangladesh, when we, or should I say they(!) beat South Africa at the Oval in the 2019 World Cup. Of course there are mixed feelings, but only afterwards. You’re proud to have done your job well at the time but you might reflect a little later on about the bitter-sweet part.

    “I’m still passionate about South African cricket and always will be. The pride and memories of playing for your country don’t just go away. I go back a very long way with Shukri (Conrad) and Rob (Walter), and I want them to have great success. But when you set yourself as a professional coach, that’s what you do and you do it to the best of your ability,” McKenzie said.

    At least Proteas fans will be spared the painful sight of Neil Mac sitting in the Sri Lankan change room during the Test matches in Durban and Gqeberha. But only because of a prior commitment: “Freddie (Flintoff) is bringing the England Lions to South Africa later in the month and he asked me to work with them, so that clashes with the Tests.

    “Sanga (Kumar Sangakarra) asked me if I was available and I spoke to Sanath, too. I explained that I was already committed for later in the month but that I would help them with their preparation for the series,” McKenzie said.

    It might appear that his coaching skills are more appreciated outside the country than in it – and he wouldn’t be the first – but the reality, in this instance, owes more to poor timing than any sort of prejudice. Ironic for a man who was never accused of such a heinous crime with a bat in his hand.

    Enoch Nkwe began his own tenure as CSA Director of Cricket with a set of rules in place governing the appointment of coaching staff and their terms of employment. It just happened to be at the time McKenzie had a decision to make about his career. Nkwe is a proponent of commonsense but it was too late for his old team mate:

    “I captained Enoch at the Lions for years, we go back a long way and there are certainly no hard feelings. We’ll see what the future holds,” McKenzie said.

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