Government’s lack of support for CSA ‘startling’: Lorgat

Cricket SA CEO Haroon Lorgat has called on government to support the development of cricket in South Africa.

Lorgat was speaking at a sponsorship announcement at the University of Fort Hare in East London on Tuesday.

"What is startling for me is the lack of government support [here]. It's something we all need to think about, [and] how we're going to unlock [it]," Lorgat said.

Currently the development of cricketers from a young age hinged on the support of CSA and outside sponsorship.

To maintain South Africa's status as the number one Test and ODI side, more needed to be done, he said.

"We cannot achieve the kind of social re-engineering we're looking for without the support of the state."

Contributions from all concerned would pave the way forward, he said.

"I believe there's a lot we need to do as a country and I think government needs to play a more meaningful role in terms of supporting us because we don't have enough resources.

"We'll never [currently] get all our programmes to where we want them, so that support would be welcome."

Transformation did not necessarily have anything to do with skin colour, he said.

"Lance Klusener and Dale Steyn are products of transformation programmes, they came out from rural areas where cricket is not normally played.

"Without these programmes those kind of superstars may not have been found. There's loads of talent still to be unearthed."

Lorgat also made reference to the restructuring of the ICC (International Cricket Council) -- with England, Australia and India gaining major control of world cricket.

"We do not have the resources for what we need to deliver. These days it's becoming even more complex with the restructuring in international quarters.

"The phrase I'm trying to coin here is doing more with a lot less."