[imagesource: Gallo Images]

The update can be found at the bottom of the story…

When a sports governing body is likened to one of the world’s most infamous nuclear disasters, you know the wheels have come off.

Earlier in the week, we detailed how Cricket South Africa’s autocratic approach to governing the sport had caused a massive backlash, and in the days that have followed, things have spiralled further out of control.

What’s perhaps most farcical is CSA’s handling of the saga, and in particular CEO Thabang Moroe [above], which has shown how little they respect the cricketing public in this country.

Before I start raging at my desk, I’m going to hand over to Sport24 for more on that Chernobyl comparison, which came via former CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat:

“It’s like the Chernobyl disaster,” Lorgat told Sport24 on Thursday.

“The board could see it coming for the last year, but did nothing about it. I never thought things would get this bad.”

If Lorgat had his way, extreme intervention from either the Members Council or government would see the entire CSA Board suspended and an independent body appointed to get the organisation back on track.

“The Board appointed Thabang at first in an acting capacity when I left. He is 36-years-old and, despite his best intentions, he does not have the necessary experience to be in such a role,” Lorgat said.

“The Board saw Thabang operate in an acting capacity for about six months and should have seen the red flags. They didn’t, and now they are in this mess as a result.”

…”Seeing what has taken place over the last 18 months hurts. The game that we all love so much has suffered, and that is the saddest part.”

Who would have thought hiring a 36-year-old, without “the necessary experience”, to run cricket in the country would backfire.

There has been talk of a ‘state capture’ environment in the boardrooms at CSA, and as with anything state-related, financial mismanagement soon follows.

The problem is so bad, in fact, that Board chairperson and finance committee chief Iqbal Khan has resigned. Sport24 again with why:

The chartered accountant and independent director confirmed to Sport24 late on Wednesday that he had quit with immediate effect: “I advised the CSA president (Chris Nenzani) as such this evening.”

Sport24 is aware of “issues of concern with respect to CEO (Thabang Moroe) actions or inactions” to Khan, a seven-year servant of the Board, listed in his resignation letter to Nenzani.

Those issues of concern include “widespread credit card abuse in the office” and “bringing Cricket South Africa into disrepute”.

In his resignation letter, Khan said he could “no longer be party to an organisation that is fast ruining the game”.

It also emerged overnight that CSA has taken the decision to suspend former acting chief financial officer (CFO), Ziyanda Nkuta, as well as two other employees, procurement manager Lundi Maja and administrator Dalene Nolan.

That’s just not going to cut it, because until Moroe is ousted from his role as CEO, fans of the game in this country will not be satisfied.

Thankfully, it looks like that noose is tightening, as the Daily Maverick reports:

At a special sitting of the Gauteng Cricket Board on Thursday night, the organisation called on the CSA board and CEO, Thabang Moroe, to resign. They proposed an interim board to replace the existing board…

The Gauteng board’s decision has been supported by the boards of the Western Province, Eastern Province, Northern Cape, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and South Western Districts.

Where things really get interesting is when you consider that CSA’s main sponsors have now also had enough, and they’re making their money talk:

On Thursday morning Pietermaritzburg-based Willowton group, which manufactures Sunfoil cooking oil and is a long-standing CSA sponsor, called for the board to resign…

Willowton demanded the following:

• Immediate resignation of the CEO of Cricket South Africa;
• Immediate resignation of the President of Cricket South Africa;
• Immediate reinstatement of the three suspended Cricket South Africa officials;
• Immediate reappointment of the two board members who have resigned;
• Immediate appointment of a lead independent director; and
• Immediate independent audit and review to be conducted on Cricket South Africa.

Standard Bank also raised concerns earlier in the week, although an urgent meeting on Monday saw the company say it was satisfied that the necessary action would be taken going forward.

Plenty has changed since then, and now the sponsor has pulled the plug, announcing the decision in a statement released at around 11AM.

From Sport24:

“This morning Standard Bank informed Cricket South Africa (CSA) that it will not renew its agreement as the title sponsor of the South African National Men’s Cricket Team when it concludes on 30 April 2020,” the statement read.

“Standard Bank has sponsored the National Cricket Team, and the CSA development programme through the Regional Performance Centres, for a long period. We are immensely proud of the many milestones reached.”

We can all read between the lines here. Standard Bank knows Moroe is sinking this ship, and they want to no part of it.

Tomorrow is D-Day for Moroe and CSA, with a meeting of the entire board convened. It is hoped that Moroe can be ousted, which can come about if the majority of the board decide they have lost confidence in his ability to lead.

Anything less than the sacking of those who have led us to this point is unacceptable, although even that won’t fix the mess that the sport finds itself in.

The cricketers themselves are at breaking point, with the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) considering protest action against CSA.

Ultimately, when we see the inevitable overseas exodus in the coming years, we can look back at this week as one of the moments that defined cricket in this country for a generation.

The first test against the English kicks off in Pretoria on Boxing Day, December 26, although at present that seems like something of an afterthought.

UPDATE: Cricket South Africa has announced that Thabang Moroe has been suspended by the Board of Directors, effective immediately, with full pay.

Here’s the full CSA statement via Sport24:

“The Board of Directors of Cricket South Africa has taken a decision to put the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Thabang Moroe, on precautionary suspension with pay, effective 06 December 2019, on allegations of misconduct, pending further investigations. The decision to place Mr Thabang Moroe on precautionary suspension follows from the reports received by the Social and Ethics Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee of the Board related to possible failure of controls in the organisation.

“During the course of Mr. Thabang Moroe’s precautionary suspension, a forensic audit of critical aspects of the business and the conduct of management related to such aspects shall be conducted by an independent forensic team. In this regard, we urge all our stakeholders including sponsors, members of staff, players, volunteers and cricket fans to allow this process to unfold and we will provide updates on this matter.

“In the interim, the Board of Directors has mandated the Chairman to look at various options including holding discussions with Mr. Dave Richardson, the former Chief Executive Officer of the International Cricket Council (ICC), regarding the appointment of an Acting Chief Executive Officer for the duration of Mr. Thabang Moroe’s precautionary suspension.”

It’s a start, but we won’t be happy until he’s been booted altogether.

[sources:sport24&sport24&dailymaverick&sport24]