JOHANNESBURG – The South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca), through its lawyers, on Friday addressed a letter to Cricket South Africa (CSA) regarding breaches of agreement by CSA related to its failure to provide Saca with relevant financial information, and its decision to restructure domestic cricket.
Afterwards, Saca released a media statement.
President Omphile Ramela said: “We reiterate our concerns around the financial position and around a decision, which has significant consequences both for the game and the players, taken without regard to our agreements and without following the consultation process specifically provided for in our Recognition Agreement.
“Saca cares about the financial sustainability of the game, and this is not only about what happens next year, but also about the years to come. Our concerns relating to this have simply been ignored by CSA.
“We also care about ensuring the best possible domestic structure for the players and the game, and believe that this should be the subject of proper consultation and agreement, instead of there being a decision which will have significant consequences, forced on us and the players.”
Chief executive Tony Irish added: “Our lawyers have made it clear to CSA that its failure to comply with our agreements may well lead to legal action.
“At the same time, we are open to finding responsible solutions to the financial challenges facing cricket, and to ensuring the best outcomes from a cricket point of view.
“We have invited CSA to engage in mediation on the issues. If CSA fails to comply and does not accept our invitation to mediate Saca will be compelled to take the legal route.”
The South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca) is the players’ union of South Africa’s professional cricketers.
It represents 311 current players comprising the Proteas (men and women) teams, the franchise teams and the provincial teams.