JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Test captain, Dean Elgar hopes Cricket SA’s newly installed Board of Directors, will put the sport back at the forefront following years of petty politicking that took the organisation to the brink of disaster.
Speaking for the first time since Cricket SA confirmed a new Board of Directors, the majority of whom are independent, Elgar sounded wary about what the future holds for the organisation. “I’d like to say that I trust the new structure going forward,” said Elgar. “Cricket needs to be put first again, where it was put in the back seat in the (recent) past. Hopefully with the new board and structure, they get cricket back up and running, to where it should be.”
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Cricket SA finalised the composition of the new board on Wednesday evening, with Norman Arendse appointed as an independent director despite objections from the Members Council.
Elgar added that Cricket SA could ill-afford any further damage to its reputation. “I hope this is a new era, we can’t go back to what we had, it didn’t paint the game in a very good light.”
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While predecessors like Faf du Plessis and Graeme Smith wanted to be kept abreast of what was happening at administrative level, Elgar admits that for now, his focus is singular.
“When you’re made captain, whether you like it or not you will always be involved with those kinds of chats on a boardroom front. I’m not a boardroom specialist, I’m not a politician, I’m a cricket player and the Proteas captain. That is all I care about.”
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The players union, the SA Cricketers Association on Thursday welcomed the appointment of the new board. "Players have been longing for certainty and consistency in the game for the past two years," said Saca president, Khaya Zondo. "We are hoping that the appointment of the new Board, with its majority of independent directors, will be the first step in achieving this."
Saca's CEO, Andrew Breetzke said the players body was looking forward to building a "constructive relationship" with the new board. "Our game has suffered immense damage and the appointment of the new Board of Directors has itself been a challenging and complex process," said Breetzke.
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"In addition to the immediate issues of appointing a new CEO, the financial sustainability of the game and transformation, the new Board must look to regain the confidence of the public, players and stakeholders."
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