"With Power comes Responsibility."

South African Cricket's battle to remain sustainable continues - reliance on India continues"

    If the first step to recovery is to accept the problem then last week was a good one for South African cricket after the country’s provincial coaches and chief executives met along with Cricket South Africa’s administrators to discuss the state of the game and what needs to be done to improve it.

    The common theme was one to which most people in the country can relate all too well. ‘What can we do to improve the game – which doesn’t cost money.’ South African cricket’s financial problems are a very long way from being resolved and that was made abundantly clear. Not that the 15 provincial teams were unaware of the reality.

    The coaches were unanimous - more fixtures are crucial to the improvement of standards. The administrators were clear – more games will cost more money. Nonetheless, it was agreed that ways should be found to play more domestic first-class and limited overs cricket as well as SA ‘A’ games and even regional contests pitting the country’s best cricketers against each other in a ‘North vs South’ format.

    The only elephant in the room, by all accounts, was the unspoken reality that 15 provincial teams are simply not sustainable. There was occasionally a sense of ‘dead man walking’ according to one attendee. CSA does not have the money to keep bailing the provinces out. They will have to stand on their own or wither.   

    The money from the inaugural SA20 was substantial but, according to another source at the meetings it was likened to ‘attempting to save an ailing corporation by changing the brand of paper-clips used by the stationary department.’

    In ball-park terms CSA faces an annual operating shortfall of around R250 million and the revenue from the SA20 was around R30 million. Just as in every four-year cycle in the last three decades the revenue from an Indian tour is critical to keep the game afloat. Now more than ever. CSA is hoping the BCCI will agree to play five T20Is when the Indian team arrives on these shores at the end of the year as well as the two Test matches they are committed to for the Test Championship. A three-match ODI series would be extremely welcome, too.

    Each white-ball fixture against India is worth around $7million, or just over R120million. In effect, the revenue from a full India tour can, and has in the past, kept the game alive for four years until their next visit. South Africa is not alone in this predicament with Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the West Indies all completely reliant on India for their survival while England and Australia need India tour revenue to keep living the comfortable lives to which they have become accustomed.

    Meanwhile, the hardships on the ground at most of the provinces are not just cosmetic. Fraying paintwork and decaying infrastructure may not provide the ideal environment for elite sportsmen and women to achieve their best results but it’s worse than that.

    At the start of one match in Division Two last season the visiting players were required to find their own way to the ground because the bus, which had either not been ordered or paid for, did not arrive. But it’s worse than that.

    Some provinces cannot afford to buy balls for training sessions which, it must be said, are not cheap at around R1500 each. Match balls can be changed after 80 overs yet some coaches admitted that the balls being used in their nets were at least 200 overs old which provide no meaningful practise. One team even tried painting their old, red balls white before the start of the domestic limited overs competition in order to give the bowlers ‘the feel’ of a white ball. It would be funny if it wasn’t so pitiful.

    Despite all the problems, however, the over-riding impression from the delegates was one of positivity and optimism. There was a consensus that the coaching, administrative and selection structures of the provinces should, wherever possible, be aligned with each other and with the national teams. Some provinces still have bloated selection panels including members with no cricketing experience. Others have only the head coach as sole selector.

    Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter were not just in attendance but played a prominent role. They are both driven, passionate men with clear visions for the Test and Limited Overs teams and a well-planned roadmap for how to get there. They will both have sole responsibility for the selection of the national teams and there was, again, no noticeable objections to the notion that the provinces should all place the Proteas ambitions above their own.

    After years of administrative meddling which obstructed objectives on the field, there now appears a belated acceptance that the game’s collective energy should be focussed on the top of the pyramid. The national men’s team, after all, does still account for over 90% of CSA’s revenue.

    Criticism that the BCCI can be heavy-handed in their controlling domination of the global game is understandable but naieve. Effectively, the rest of the cricket-playing world is dependent on them. Of course they have the final say at the ICC. Of course they do. We can only hope that the sentiments of the great Anil Kumble when he was national coach will be adopted: “With power comes responsibility.”