The conference room at OR Tambo Airport is fast developing into a place Russell Domingo is likely to detest for the remainder of his days. It is the venue where the Proteas have the majority of their press conferences before and after an international tour.
The atmosphere in the former is traditionally one filled with the warmth of hope and excitement of pending glory. Unfortunately for Domingo, the latter has recently resembled the arctic nature of a court hearing where the Proteas coach is put on trial to explain his team’s failures.
The latest disappointment is, of course, South Africa’s inglorious exit from the Tri-Series in the Caribbean where the Proteas’ failed to qualify for the tournament final ahead of the eighth-ranked home team West Indies.
Domingo, though, normally has at least the comfort of his captains AB de Villiers (Test and ODI) and Faf du Plessis (T20) alongside him for support, but in Johannesburg yesterday he was only flanked by team manager Mohammed Moosajee and media liaison Lerato Malekutu.
The captains, along with Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel, Tabraiz Shamsi and Wayne Parnell, have all remained in the West Indies to play in the Caribbean Premier League that gets underway in Trinidad on Wednesday evening. Dale Steyn, who has been playing in England’s Natwest T20 Blast, is also on his way to the CPL.
Domingo believes this situation plays a great role in undermining the national team’s cause and that Cricket South Africa needs to address the issue of players’ workloads outside the international schedule urgently.
"This loss comes on the back of our top players playing too much cricket," Domingo said on Wednesday morning. "It's a big concern for me. It's one of the points I need to highlight with my superiors when I get time to sit down and chat to them.
"The desire and the hunger levels when you are playing day in and day out will wane at some stage. Sometimes, if you have done it for a long time, you can take it for granted maybe. There is a lot happening outside international cricket. There's no doubt about that. You can't give 100% to ten different teams for ten months. Something's got to give."
In the aftermath of South Africa’s exit De Villiers had admitted that "as players we let them down in this series", referring to the team’s management staff, and that Domingo had done a "fantastic job" and "it's sad to see him under pressure."
However, the reality is that Domingo’s future as national team coach is in the balance with still 10 months remaining on his contract. The 41-year-old is mature enough to know that "the decision (to stay on) doesn't always lie with us", but he remains defiant that the current Proteas management group remain best equipped to serve the team.
"I've got to sit down with my management team and the board members and the CEO and the guys who make those decisions and plan the way forward. I've got 10 months left on my contract and the last six months haven't gone according to plan. I am not a guy who wants to give up or quit so I need to discuss what their thoughts are," Domingo said.
"I've got a few days at home now to just mull over things and see where things are going. I feel that the management team we've got in place have ticked a lot of boxes and provided the players with as much support as we can. We're still very motivated to do well. We feel we can take the team forward." - Independent Media