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CSA chair Naidoo hints at minor tweaks to director of cricket structure

Tiisetso Malepa Sports reporter
Newly appointed Cricket SA CEO Pholetsi is flanked by board chair Lawson Naidoo on the left and lead independent director Steven Budlender SC during a media briefing at the organisation's headquarters on March 16 2022.
Newly appointed Cricket SA CEO Pholetsi is flanked by board chair Lawson Naidoo on the left and lead independent director Steven Budlender SC during a media briefing at the organisation's headquarters on March 16 2022.
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

Cricket SA (CSA) has reviewed the structure of the director of cricket office, now occupied by Graeme Smith, and while there will be minor adjustments the job requirements will remain the same.

Smith’s contract expires on March 31 and CSA board chair Lawson Naidoo said the process to appoint a new director of cricket will start soon.

“The position is due to be advertised any day now together with a number of other senior positions,” Naidoo told media at CSA headquarters in Johannesburg where the organisation announced finance chief and acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki has been appointed permanently for five years.

“After a review of the organisation’s structure, we’ve looked at the director of cricket structure and while there might be some minor tweaks the job specification as a whole will remain the same.

“The director of cricket is an important position.”

Naidoo was not specific as to what the tweaks may entail.

Smith is entangled in a formal arbitration with his employer after he was implicated in findings of the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) report.

The report found Smith engaged in alleged racist conduct over his apparent preferences for certain players over others when he sat on the selection panel as Proteas captain in his playing days.

The SJN report accused Smith of racial bias as director of cricket for his alleged refusal to report to then CEO Thabang Moroe,.

The SJN, chaired by Dumisa Ntsebeza, said its findings were “tentative” and called on CSA to investigate further.

Smith and CSA agreed to formal arbitration proceedings and Ngwako Maenetje and Michael Bishop were appointed joint arbitrators.

The arbitration hearing was held from March 7 to 9.  Closing arguments have been provisionally scheduled for March 22.

CSA has committed to make the findings of the arbitration public.

Smith became CSA’s first director of cricket after he took over the newly established office in December 2019 on an interim basis until his permanent appointment for two years in April 2020.

His appointment was found to be flawed by the SJN report, but Naidoo said there was not much his board could do about that as the appointment was made under the previous board.

TimesLIVE


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