Entire board of Cricket South Africa resigns paving way for appointment of interim committee

The entire board of Cricket South Africa has resigned, the organisation said in a Twitter post on Monday. CSA announced: “All independent and non-independent directors have now resigned.” The brief announcement followed the resignation of six board members, including acting president Beresford Williams, on Sunday. It now appears the four remaining board members have also quit, clearing the way for the appointment of an interim committee. The latest development came one day before a deadline threatening intervention by sports minister Nathi Mthethwa.

After the Members’ Council had deliberated and resolved that in order to best serve the interest of cricket in South Africa, the entire Board should resign - which they did. All Independent and Non-Independent Directors have now resigned.

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 26, 2020

The resignations followed a series of meetings of a 14-person members’ council, which consists of the presidents of provincial unions affiliated to CSA. According to CSA’s website, the council “sets general policy for CSA”. A report in The Citizen newspaper quoted an unnamed insider as saying: “Not all of the directors were happy to go but they were basically told they had to, we forced them.” Six “non-independent” board members — elected from cricket structures — were also part of the members’ council. Williams resigned from both bodies but the other four non-independent board members who resigned on Sunday said they would remain part of the members’ council. CSA has been in disarray since chief executive Thabang Moroe was suspended last December, prompting calls from the country’s players’ association and major sponsors for the board to resign. Moroe was fired in August on the basis of a forensic report which CSA has refused to make public. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), an umbrella body for elite sports, demanded in September that the board step down in order for Sascoc to appoint a task team to investigate CSA. When the cricket body failed to cooperate, Sascoc asked the minister to intervene, potentially putting CSA’s standing with the International Cricket Council at risk. If an interim committee is appointed, one of its tasks will be to recommend a new structure for the board. Under the current constitution a majority of the board are non-independent — elected from cricket structures — but there have been calls for the balance to tilt in favour of independent directors. The fate of the members’ council is uncertain but it is likely that in future it will not be possible for board members to also be part of the council. South Africa are due to host World Cup champions England in three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals in late November and early December.