Category Archives: Sports News

Sport24.co.za | Stormers expose Bulls’ ‘general’ dilemma

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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer

Cape Town – Suggestion for new definition of a masochist: someone who resolutely commits South African derbies in Super Rugby to a video archive and then watches them on repeat.

The not so rich tradition of these tussles failing to come up trumps for entertainment value simply surfaced again at Newlands on Saturday, where a combination of the Stormers’ thoroughly admirable defensive blanket and the Bulls’ rank lack of composure and cutting edge on attack made for 80 tough-to-watch minutes in the summer heat.

An all too familiar, uncompromising and mistake-laden arm-wrestle saw the hosts at least show the necessary levels of discipline and herculean resistance as a tackling and scrambling force to grind out a deserved enough 13-0 outcome in their favour.

It was also two tries to nil, one a trademark dot-down – by official player of the match Scarra Ntubeni – off a rumbling lineout drive and the other (thank heavens for small mercies) a smartly-constructed raid involving deft lead-up hand skills from Johan Du Toit and Dillyn Leyds before left wing Seabelo Senatla cracked on the pace to romp over with so-welcome elegance.

This was a second match on the trot in which the Stormers have carried out a “thou shalt not breach our wall” quest with genuinely unerring success – the Hurricanes had similarly registered a fat nil on the scoreboard against them last week.

While the Capetonians will rightly bask in that statistic for the time being, the Bulls have a contrasting quandary: how to find a first try of the campaign after 160 minutes of often honest enough huffing and puffing without one yet.

Pote Human’s charges, also still not sporting a single log point after successive away derbies against the Sharks and Stormers, have a bye next weekend which only means that their status on the overall and conference tables will be made to look even worse for another week.

But the gap of a fortnight before they play the Blues at Loftus does offer the opportunity to pep up their offensive game as earnestly as possible – they botched two or three highly promising moves on Saturday through dreadful option-taking.

Remember that this was the best-performing South African team in Super Rugby 2019, when they ended second in the SA conference behind the Jaguares and were gallant quarter-final losers to the Hurricanes in Wellington; right now the country’s best hopes in 2020 already seem to lie firmly with both, unbeaten coastal outfits.

Pinned to their own territory some two-thirds of the time, and not enjoying the lion’s share of possession either, the Stormers did show great smartness in somehow creating a situation in this contest where Morne Steyn, the Bulls’ veteran flyhalf and metronomic factor off the tee, did not earn a single crack at the posts.

That mere fact alone negated so many of the 35-year-old’s most notable strengths … and will have only cranked up debate around whether his style of play – though far from the only drawback at present, let it be said – is a bit of an impediment to regular activity in the “tries for” column by the Pretoria team.

Significantly, maybe, when the more hard-to-police Manie Libbok took over at pivot in the 63rd minute (all the total match points had already been scored) he made one lovely break that would have led to a Bulls try and made the finish a much more tense one but for Cornal Hendricks’ awful final pass decision: the ball only went into the hands of Stormers reserve prop Ali Vermaak after a three-on-one situation in the visitors’ massive favour.

Ironically, if the Stormers have one fallible area to work on it also surrounds flyhalf play to some extent … or more specifically the relative shakiness of general-play thriller Damian Willemse in the place-kicking role, something that was apparent for a second week in a row.

Their head coach John Dobson did, commendably, acknowledge in a post-match television interview that his own charges hadn’t always played with best fluency or thrust in front of a pretty good audience in the blazing sunshine of 27, 301: “We want to play with more rhythm; spread our wings,” he vowed.

But they will go to the Highveld next weekend with their squad confidence at rosy levels for another derby, against a Lions side looking fallible in an area the Stormers are traditionally forceful at: scrum time.

That area of play kept an earthy Reds team in this Saturday’s soggy-pitch clash at Emirates Airline Park firmly in the contest for longer than the hosts would have liked, before they eked out a 27-20 score-line for their first success of the season.

Next weekend’s fixtures (home teams first, all kick-offs SA time):

Friday: Blues v Crusaders, 08:05; Rebels v Waratahs, 10:15. Saturday: Sunwolves v Chiefs, 05:45; Hurricanes v Sharks, 08:05; Brumbies v Highlanders, 10:15; Lions v Stormers, 15:05. Sunday: Jaguares v Reds, 01:00. Bye: Bulls.

*Follow our chief writer on Twitter: @RobHouwing

Sport24.co.za | Federer edges Nadal as Match in Africa sets new world record

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Cape Town – Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal in their Match in Africa exhibition at Cape Town Stadium on Friday evening.

Federer won the three-set contest 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

In windy conditions, Federer broke Nadal in the very first game of the match and from there it went on serve for the remainder of the set.

The Swiss ace looked comfortable on serve until the eighth game when he had to fend off a break point before holding for a 5-3 lead.

Nadal held serve for 5-4 but Federer comfortably served out the set to love in front of a boisterous crowd.

It went on serve for the remainder of the opening set, before Federer took it 6-4.

Nadal broke early in the second set for a 2-0 advantage, but Federer broke back straight away.

However, the Swiss could not consolidate the break and allowed the Spaniard to break again for a 3-1 lead in the next game.

Nadal would not relinquish the advantage again and took the set 6-3.

But Federer regrouped and broke at the start of the third set and from there he roared to the finish line.

Federer had to fend off a break point while serving for the match, but held his nerve and sealed the contest in style with a superb drop volley at the net.

In the end, Federer’s serve made the difference – he served nine aces compared to Nadal’s solitary ace.

The match started with the crowd in high spirits, with Springbok World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi making a surprise entrance on court to do the pre-game coin toss.

Kolisi handed Federer a Springbok jersey with the Swiss star’s name embroidered on the back, with the 20-time Grand Slam winner wearing it during his warm-up.

Earlier, in the doubles curtain raiser, Federer teamed up with Microsoft co-founder, philanthropist and rand trillionaire, Bill Gates, to defeat Nadal and South African comedian Trevor Noah 6-3 in a one-set shootout.

WORLD RECORD

After the match, organisers confirmed the official attendance figure as 51 954 – a world record crowd for a tennis match, breaking the record set in November 2019 when Federer defeated Germany’s Alexander Zverev in Mexico City in front of 42 517 fans.

It was the sixth instalment of exhibition matches for Federer’s foundation.

To date, the foundation has raised over $52 million in support of educational and athletics programmes for children in Africa.

Sport24.co.za | SA swim star Schoeman banned for doping

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Lausanne – Former world record holder and Olympic gold medallist Roland Schoeman has been suspended for doping, the International Swimming Federation (Fina) announced on Thursday.

The South African, who is 39 and was training for the 2020 Olympics in the hope of qualifying for the event, tested positive in May 2019 for a prohibited product from the family of “hormonal and metabolic modulators”, Fina said.

Schoeman has been suspended until May 17, 2020. The swimming competition in Tokyo starts on July 25 which means he still would be eligible for the event should he make the South African team.

He was part of the winning South African 4x100m relay team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, a triple world champion and held world records in butterfly and freestyle.

The swimmer can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

More to follow…

Sport24.co.za | Kriel back at Lions, but sidelined until April

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2020-02-05 14:02

Cape Town – Springbok flank Jaco Kriel may be back in the Lions camp but he is not expected to feature for the Johannesburg outfit anytime soon.

It was confirmed earlier in the week that Kriel has signed a three-year deal with the Lions, but according to Netwerk24, the 30-year-old is still doing rehabilitation after an ankle operation in December.

Kriel is only expected to make a return to the playing field in April.

He was on the Lions’ books between 2010 and 2018, before joining English club Gloucester where former Lions mentor Johan Ackermann is the head coach.

Kriel had a torrid time at Kingsholm, with injuries limiting him to just 16 appearances and is hoping the move back to the Lions could re-ignite his career.

“Yes, things didn’t quite work out there. But it was still a good thing for me to go because I would always have wondered about it if I didn’t take the chance,” Kriel said.

Kriel was a star performer during his time at the Lions, playing a big role in the team making three consecutive Super Rugby finals between 2016 and 2018.

He also played 11 Tests for the Springboks between 2016 and 2017.

– Compiled by Herman Mostert

Sport24.co.za | Australia recall Maxwell for SA tour, Stoinis snubbed

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Sydney – Batting star Glenn Maxwell’s self-imposed exile from international cricket ended when he was named on Tuesday in Australia’s limited-overs squads to tour South Africa, but in-form Marcus Stoinis missed out.

Maxwell, who stood down from Australian duties in October saying he needed a break to deal with mental health issues, was named in both the one-day and Twenty20 squads to face the Proteas.

Selector Trevor Hohns said Maxwell had earned a recall with his performances captaining the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL), where he has scored 389 runs at an average of 43.22.

“It is fantastic to have Glenn back in both squads given his brilliant form in the middle order for the Stars along with his results with the ball,” Hohns said.

Maxwell, 31, has played 110 one-dayers and 61 T20s for Australia, earning the nickname “Big Show” early in his career due to his match-turning abilities.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade and all-rounder Mitch Marsh, who last played limited-overs internationals in 2017 and 2018 respectively, were surprise inclusions on the back of strong BBL campaigns.

But Stoinis made neither the ODI or T20 squads, despite being named BBL player of the tournament with a competition-high 607 regular-season runs.

Hohns said Stoinis was on standby for South Africa, admitting the 30-year-old was unlucky to miss out.

“It is terrific to have a back-up player of his calibre in such good form,” he said.

Stoinis’ last limited-overs international was Australia’s World Cup semi-final loss against England last July, when he was dismissed for a two-ball duck. 

Australia will play three T20s and three ODIs in South Africa, with the first fixture in Johannesburg on February 21.

Australia ODI squad:

Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia T20 squad:

Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Sport24.co.za | Lions’ thrashing only blemish in bright SA round

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2020-02-02 21:30

Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer

Cape Town – Strong statements by both coastal teams, the Stormers and Sharks, some reasonable signs for the Bulls even in defeat … but just the Lions dragging down the sense of optimism. 

Those were major features of the first round of Super Rugby 2020 for South Africa’s quartet of sides. 

While you must be wary of reading too much into opening-weekend results, it was also almost impossible not to suspect a few useful pointers. 

Quite obviously, the winning starts for the Stormers – especially clinical in dismantling a cynical, blundering Hurricanes outfit 27-0 at Newlands – and Sharks, who won the Durban derby against the Bulls 23-15, will only amplify a fairly well-subscribed pre-season belief that they might be the country’s best hopes of galloping into the knockout phase this year. 

But it isn’t all gloom for the Bulls, still the only SA team to have won the modern Super Rugby title, as the remodelled troops from Pretoria were right in the game at 16-15 just before the final whistle at Kings Park and seemingly on course for a deserved losing bonus point. 

Exciting reserve scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba’s late try, however, took that away from them at the death. 

Pote Human’s charges have a second consecutive away derby toughie against the Stormers this Saturday, but whatever happens there, their shift to Loftus for a solid sequence of matches soon afterwards (Blues, Jaguares, Highlanders in that order) could signal a change of fortunes before too much threat of a major “play catch-up” requirement. 

Still, many fans of both the Sharks and Stormers – and plenty of SA neutrals – will already be wondering just how big, and significant, their first encounter might be: it will occur at Kings Park on March 14, after both teams have had several weeks to fine-tune their respective formulas for the season. 

The Lions had their worst start to ordinary season in many years (they have won their opening fixture in each of the last four campaigns) when the Jaguares grilled them 38-8 and by five tries to one in Buenos Aires. 

It was their heaviest round-one reverse since the 2015 season, when the ‘Canes beat them 22-8 at Ellis Park – a year before they went on a three-year run of reaching the competition’s final every time. 

What the Argentineans’ romp will have done, potentially to the detriment of all the South African sides, is fuel their belief that they have it within them to repeat their 2019 SA conference-winning success. 

The Jaguares have shed two major pack meanies since last year – robust Pumas flanker Pablo Matera and sometimes red mist-prone lock Tomas Lavanini, also a Test veteran – but it didn’t seem a significant impediment to their clear-cut mastery of a raw, rebuilding Lions combo. 

They now have another two home tussles (Hurricanes, Reds) before making their first SA tour, to play all of the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks in clashes that could have a key bearing on the conference pecking order further down the line. 

Yes, the Lions now return with tails between legs, but it isn’t yet all glass-half-empty for Elton Jantjies and company: they have a rosy opportunity to get up and running in the win column this weekend when they entertain, in mid-summer Highveld conditions, a Reds team from the already slightly anaemic-looking Australian conference … 

Next weekend’s fixtures (home teams first, all kick-offs SA time): 

Friday: Highlanders v Sharks, 08:05; Brumbies v Rebels, 10:15. Saturday: Chiefs v Crusaders, 08:05; Waratahs v Blues, 10:15; Lions v Reds, 15:05; Stormers v Bulls, 17:15; Jaguares v Hurricanes, 23:40. Bye: Sunwolves. 

*Follow our chief writer on Twitter: @RobHouwing

Sport24.co.za | Stormers sucked life from odious guests

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2020-02-01 20:29

Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer

Cape Town – The Hurricanes were clear-cut winners over the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday … well, only for cheap shots and their bewildering ineptitude, in no special order. 

Altogether more nobly and relevantly, John Dobson’s home charges triumphed in the columns that mattered: on the scoreboard, where the Super Rugby opener produced an unexpectedly wide 27-0 outcome in their favour, and for their superior devotion to the spirit of rugby union. 

But the result came at a significant price for the Capetonians, a phenomenon at least partly attached to the cynical approach of their usually more revered and entertainment-minded foes. 

While they will be chuffed by the four tries in their favour, the bonus-point nature of the victory and the rare defensive shut-out to nil of a New Zealand team, the Stormers and their supporters suffered the mortifying experience of their World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi only lasting 25 minutes before a late tackle caught him awkwardly off balance and unsuspecting, and may have caused ligament damage to a knee. 

Later, and this time at least not linked to the rash of foul play from the ‘Canes, who boiled over in a variety of senses in the summer heat, another of their prize Boks in hooker Bongi Mbonambi – who had started his season in the competition for 49 minutes with admirable zest – was similarly forced off. 

His was one of those accidental occurrences at a fiercely-contested breakdown where a player’s leg can get jammed at a bad angle and with excessive weight from other combatants coming onto it. 

The stick of dynamite who is Mbonambi looked extremely uncomfortable when helped off, and Dobson and his lieutenants may have to brace themselves for medium-term absences (at best, possibly?) of both key warriors. 

The Stormers do have a fairly wide array of squad cover in loose forward resources, and two starters there in Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jaco Coetzee were immense contributors to a victory in which they squeezed the life out of the Wellingtonians – general pack superiority a major factor – like a large, merciless jungle serpent. 

But the situation in the important berth of hooker could turn more worrisome if Mbonambi can’t return soon. 

Being able to call on the services of experienced, talented back-up Scarra Ntubeni is a comfort, but bear in mind that he has his own legacy of major injury setbacks: this would be a wonderful time for the wheel of fortune to suddenly turn more kindly in favour of the popular camp member. 

Should Ntubeni struggle to handle the regular pressure of starting for a necessarily protracted period, or his personal jinx strike again, a much deeper problem comes to the fore. 

Ramone Samuels was a long-term injury casualty last season, and his lineout throwing has a reputation for inconsistency even when fit, while Chad Solomon is more renowned for his run-around qualities than scrummaging power (a department the Stormers pride themselves on, as they simply reminded on Saturday) and muscularity in the tight-loose. 

Hearts would have been in mouths in the home booth, too, when Ntubeni was crudely shoulder-charged to the throat and sent sprawling to the turf for a minute or to by ‘Canes substitute forward Vaea Fifita, who became the second visiting player to be yellow-carded … and certainly flirted with red for the offence. 

Stormers flyhalf Damian Willemse was subjected to regular doses of roughhouse treatment – enough to suggest a premeditated tactic? – from the Hurricanes, while flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi was very clearly caught on camera applying fingers across the face of Du Toit during a one-on-one altercation. 

The New Zealanders were so weirdly ill-focused on executing orthodox rugby skills (or often enough mere basics) correctly that you have to be careful not to hand out excessive salaams to the Stormers for this performance. 

But they were very good indeed, bristling with constructive intent right across the park for large chunks of the match in gruelling conditions, and jack-in-a-box young Bok scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies significantly eclipsing his opposite number and more seasoned All Black TJ Perenara, the ‘Canes captain on a thoroughly forgettable day for them. 

Yes, there were times when the Stormers looked a little too lateral and predictable in hand-to-hand play, but their mauling and scrambling was top-drawer. 

It certainly took some doing to ensure a zero-points shutout for a Hurricanes team who were narrowly-beaten semi-finalists by the Crusaders last year and fourth highest try scorers from 2019’s ordinary season … 

*Follow our chief writer on Twitter: @RobHouwing 

Sport24.co.za | Proteas: STILL that woeful ODI tail

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Whether England bat better in the series as a collective remains to be seen, but they are almost sure to bat deeper on paper … not the first ODI foes to boast that often influential advantage over the Proteas.

Reminder of SA’s now only 14-man squad: Quinton de Kock (capt), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jon-Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne. 

Sport24.co.za | Time to scrap Super Rugby? Format still flawed after 25 years

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2020-01-30 07:54

Wellington – Super Rugby marks its 25th anniversary this year still struggling to establish a stable identity and with calls for the unwieldy competition across 16 time zones to be scrapped.

Register your interest for the British & Irish Lions tickets in South Africa 2021

Staging a multi-national tournament from South Africa to New Zealand every weekend was always going to be fraught with problems even before Argentina joined, and the governing body SANZAAR has never found an acceptable solution.

Perhaps the best answer, according to South African-born former All Blacks great Andrew Mehrtens, would be to scrap the tournament and start all over again without South Africa and Argentina.

“If we push into Asia, if we can develop a competition that’s in the same time zone I think it’s going to be a better product,” the former All Blacks flyhalf said.

“We need to drop South Africa. As much as I love South Africa, logistically it’s a pain, and the same with Argentina.”

The problem is highlighted by the Hurricanes’ start to this season.

Following their final warm-up game in Auckland last weekend, they play in South Africa on Saturday, travel on to Argentina the week after and play their third match the following week back in New Zealand.

Conference complications

Super Rugby was born in 1996 as a 12-team competition with franchises in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa playing in a round-robin competition with the top four advancing to semi-finals.

In 2011, in an attempt to make more money from broadcasters, it was expanded to 15 teams divided into three national conferences under a complicated system in which teams did not play all the other sides.

It was further enlarged to 18 teams in 2016 and spread over 16 time zones with the addition of a sixth South African side as well as the Sunwolves from Japan and Argentina’s Jaguares making it bewildering for even diehard fans to keep up with the action which was taking place at all hours.

The flaws in the conference system were immediate, especially in 2017 when the Lions were ranked the top team for the playoffs despite having not faced a New Zealand team.

When it came to the crunch they lost the final at home to the Crusaders.

So long Sunwolves

Another rethink saw two South African and one Australian side axed in 2018. The widely criticised conference system will be scrapped for next season, as will Japan’s Sunwolves.

SANZAAR’s prime concern now before the next edition is to generate public interest after crowds fell markedly in recent years and television audiences flattened out.

They need impressive data to put to the broadcasters as deals are renegotiated, but the only definite number they have is that there will be less content in 2021 when the tournament drops from an 18-week regular season to 13.

In its early days, Super Rugby was uncomplicated and even though it was professional there was still an amateur feel.

Flanker Daniel Braid, who played for the Blues when they won the title for the third and final time in 2002, recalls “training in public gyms, waiting for regular punters to finish their bench presses before we could jump on”.

It was a world far-removed from the high-tech facilities of modern teams, coupled with scientifically managed workloads, in no small part financed by broadcast income.

In Australia, Fox has already warned rugby executives that it is on a cost-slashing campaign with Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle pinning her hopes on a competitive tendering process to negotiate an improved broadcast deal for the next five years.

“We believe that we have more than one party that’s prepared to step forward and have a serious look at the rights for rugby,” Castle said.

Mehrtens believes the Australian situation is further reason to end Super Rugby with South Africa and Argentina peeling off to join tournaments more closely in line with their time zones.

“We’re up against big northern hemisphere economies in Europe and England, so Australia being strong as a rugby brand is important to New Zealand as well,” he said.

“Australia has a bigger economic footprint into Asia and I’m fully of the belief that’s our future getting into that market there and helping develop that.”

Sport24.co.za | The challenges facing South African cricket

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Johannesburg – When South Africa won the first Test against England last month it seemed a fresh dawn under former captain Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher.

Three defeats later, it has become obvious that the problems in South African cricket, which led to the appointment of acting chief executive Jacques Faul, who in turn installed Smith as interim director of cricket, and Boucher as head coach, are deep-rooted.

South Africa have lost eight of their last nine Tests and are already effectively out of contention in the World Test Championship which runs until 2021.

AFP looks at some of the challenges facing Smith and Boucher:

Lack of skills and experience

South Africa have been hard-hit by the retirement of AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel and JP Duminy and the loss of others, such as Kyle Abbott, Simon Harmer and Duanne Olivier, to Kolpak contracts in England.

With Vernon Philander also quitting international cricket to play in England, only four of the others who played in the last Test at the Wanderers have more than six Test caps. That number will be bolstered when Kagiso Rabada returns from his one-Test ban and if the spin bowling of Keshav Maharaj is recalled.

Of the four experienced players, only Quinton de Kock was consistent against England, while Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma failed to have an impact.

Shortage of young talent

South Africa picked five debutants during the series but the youngest was left-arm bowler Beuran Hendricks, 29. The others were all over 30. Zubayr Hamza, an exciting batsman aged 24, played in the first three Tests but was exposed by fast, short-pitched bowling.

One project for Boucher and batting consultant Jacques Kallis will be to work with Hamza and other young batsmen to build a solid batting line-up.

The fast bowling depth has been particularly depleted, but Anrich Nortje, 26, could develop into a leader of the attack and there are promising youngsters in domestic cricket. They include Lutho Sipamla, 21, who is in the squad for three one-day internationals against England, starting next Tuesday. Also in the squad is Lungi Ngidi, 23, who has already played in five Tests but been plagued by injuries.

Captaincy

Du Plessis has been an outstanding captain since he was appointed at the end of 2016 but his batting form has been poor and he has shown signs of strain. He has committed himself to Cricket South Africa until the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November but there is increasing speculation that he might not last that long. He has been replaced as one-day captain by De Kock, whose style seems more instinctive than strategic.

Bavuma was vice-captain in India last year and has been touted as a potential Test captain by South African assistant coach Enoch Nkwe. Bavuma had a poor year with the bat in 2019 and although he was recalled for the fourth Test, he batted at number six and did not make an emphatic case for guaranteed selection.

The race issue

Racial “quotas” were introduced to South African cricket in 1999 to give players of colour, especially black African players, chances to shine. Official quotas were introduced for the national team in 2016. It is an unsatisfactory system, limiting the opportunities for white players, while black African players have not come through in compelling numbers.

The debate over Bavuma illustrates the problem. As the only black African to have played in the Test side as a specialist batsman, his omission is likely to cause political unhappiness while opponents of the quota system are quick to criticise him if he fails.

The effectiveness of quotas at junior level is debated. Smith has said he wants to review the system and has spoken of better talent identification and skill development to equip young players for elite cricket.

Administration

Despite calls for the Board of Cricket South Africa to resign, they have refused to do so. Their ineffectiveness and lack of cricket knowledge has been widely criticised. The South African Cricketers’ Association and major sponsors are among those who want rid of the Board.

Faul, Smith and Boucher are operating in a vacuum. In the long term, trust in the leadership of the game seems essential.