Entire Cricket South Africa board resigns; government to put in place interim structure

The 10-member Board of Directors of Cricket South Africa (CSA) have resigned with immediate effect owing to the crisis that was building up for so many days. The resignation has cleared the space for an interim administrative body which was going through a lot of disturbance. Keeping in mind the domestic tours that were set to begin from November, the country’s Olympic committee will now deal with further issues related to CSA.

Six directors that included acting president Beresford Williams stepped down from his position after a meeting on Sunday. On the other hand, the rest of the four members gave their resignations on October 26. The statement from Cricket South Africa clearly states that the bold decision is being taken in the best interest of cricket in the nation. An interim body is to be given the charge soon following the sudden developments. 

“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. Following the Members’ Council meeting held yesterday, 25 October 2020, the Members’ Council received and accepted resignations from Board members,” CSA stated in a Twitter statement today.

English Team to land South Africa next month
England is also set to land in South Africa next month in order to play three ODIs and as many T20Is. According to the instruction of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, an interim steering committee will take hold of CSA soon. As of now, Rihan Richards has taken control of CSA. He was given the charge of the newly created position of president of the Members Council. It is the nation’s highest body that makes the decision and included 14 provincial affiliate presidents.

The collective decision came after several discussions in the last few months from different stakeholders, including the South African Cricketer’s Association, that asked the Board of Directors to just quit. It was only in the last week where CSA rejected suggestions from the Member’s Council to go hand in hand with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.