Johannesburg – Fear and anger continue to stalk the hallways of Cricket South Africa (CSA). At nets where pre-season training is under way, the whispers continue.
There is anger. There is sadness. There is also, as CSA stated last week, no end in sight to the match/spot-fixing scandal that has darkened the sport in this country again. A strict moratorium has been placed on anyone talking about the scandal. “Haroon (Lorgat, CSA chief executive) doesn’t want anyone to talk in public,” said one official.
Couple that with reports about lie detector tests for CSA board members, and the sense that there’s a totalitarian system taking hold at CSA isn’t that far-fetched.
This is a very serious time for Lorgat and CSA. Any time there’s a scandal of the kind that enveloped the RamSlam T20 Challenge – the organisation’s most popular domestic competition – it’s disgraceful.
However, CSA can ill-afford it at this time because of the restructuring that’s happening in the domestic game.
The new domestic T20 competition, set to start in the 2017/18 season, will see city-based franchise sides, much like the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash, with a proposal for private ownership for each franchise one of the elements under discussion.
What company or individual would want to buy a franchise with a cloud of match-fixing hanging over potential employees?
In those circumstances, it is possible to understand Lorgat’s dictatorial approach, which is why the investigation has been so meticulous. The length of time it has taken has certainly not been to everyone’s satisfaction, but on that front, CSA’s argument that they had to get it right is justified.
The scope of this scandal is still being determined.
How many others are involved? What is the state of their involvement? Do the elements involved in the illegal operation still exist in South Africa? How can it be prevented from happening again?
It was crucial that CSA, having already dished out punishment to “intermediary” Gulam Bodi back in January, be seen to deal with those Bodi approached to try to assist with his scheme.
The four named last week –Thami Tsolekile, Pumelela Matshikwe, Jean Symes and Ethy Mbhalati – were all at some stage teammates of Bodi and two of them, Tsolekile and Mbhalati, were nearing the end of their careers.
As one official put it last week: “It’s not even anger when I think about Ethy; it’s sadness. That man gave 13,14 years to this game. He was… he is a fantastic man, a very good servant of the game, but his legacy won’t be that; it’s going to be this, match-fixing.
“Look, he was remorseful, that much is clear in that statement published by Cricket South Africa.” Mbhalati, Matshikwe and Symes were all banned for failing to disclose they’d been paid money to fix elements of a match in the RamSlam.
In addition, they also failed to disclose they’d been approached by Bodi (or others, potentially).
Tsolekile’s 12-year ban was also the result of a failure to disclose an approach and payment, but in addition he was also found guilty of trying to fix a match or elements of a match and then destroying evidence linked to the investigation.
Tsolekile’s involvement is a particularly bitter pill for SA cricket to swallow.
At one stage he was very much the poster boy for transformation in the game, and then at other stages he was also badly mistreated by the authorities when a place in the Test side should have been his.
Tsolekile was angered by that and he was at the forefront of a movement last season that called for better treatment of black African players. The Black Cricketers in Unity movement wrote a letter to CSA outlining their grievances in light of the non-selection of Khaya Zondo for an ODI in India.
Tsolekile saw elements of his own mistreatment by CSA in how they were handling Zondo and wanted to show support.
Yet, regardless of his anger towards South Africa’s cricket authorities, Tsolekile, still very much a role model for young black cricketers, showed incredibly poor judgement by getting himself involved in this scandal.
He would have had a huge role to play in facilitating and easing the development of young black players through the professional ranks, at a crucial stage for the sport’s transformation in this country.
Now, banned for 12 years, that cannot occur. It is such a waste.
The positives to be drawn from this are, as SA Cricketers Association (the players’ union) chief executive Tony Irish stated, that the measures taken to ensure match-fixing couldn’t happen had kicked in.
“The players are at the heart of this fight and it’s virtually impossible to successfully defeat corruption unless players are prepared to come forward and help that fight,” he said.
“Fortunately this is what has happened in South Africa and I commend those players who came forward to report and assist this investigation.
“The vast majority of our cricketers in South Africa are clean and play the game hard and fair. Although players are obliged under the provisions of the code to report corrupt activity to the authorities, it still takes a lot of courage for a player to actually do this.”
The investigation is far from over.
The prospect of more players being involved still hangs over the sport, but it is hoped having officially outed Symes, Tsolekile, Matshikwe and Mbhalati, the others involved in this affair will step forward and reveal themselves.
The punishments handed out from here on will only be harsher and reputations even more sullied.
There are lessons here for everyone – even senior CSA administrators who too often shut themselves off from the players and the challenges they face.
“We must communicate better,” said one official.
“We must make players understand better the implications of their actions, whether that be match-fixing or doping.
“It is extremely disappointing what’s happened here – players have had their careers ended – for all aspects of cricket. The punishments are harsh, but fully deserved.”
CSA… clean-bowl match-fixing scourge