Cricket SA‚ SA Cricketers' Association close to reaching an agreement

Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca) are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) later this week.

Newly appointed CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe confirmed that they are tying up the loose ends after the two bodies finished last season without an agreement in place.

“I had to work on the MoU with Saca and I am hoping to sign the agreement any moment from now‚” he said.

“What is left is to clean up the document and sort out a few things that we had not yet agreed on.

"Insofar as principles are concerned and with regards to the sharing of money and the values‚ all that has been agreed.

"We had hoped to sign on Monday but it is just a matter of following up with them so that we can sign.”

Saca chief executive Tony Irish echoed Moroe and said that they have completed the negotiations.

He added that they have compiled a comprehensive 400-page document after a long five months of back and forth interactions with CSA.

“We are in the final stages of finalising the three drafts that make up the MoU‚" said Irish.

"We were expected to have wrapped up the negotiations in April but these things take time and we have agreed on a four-year agreement.

"The players are happy with what is contained in the documents and we should sign later this week."

Moroe dismissed suggestions that there was animosity between the players and CSA during the drawn out negotiations.

“Tony can attest we are happy with the rigorous process that we have gone through and we are almost there‚" he said.

"I would honestly say that we are 99% finished as far as the Saca document is concerned.

“I can assure you that there was never a divide between the players and us‚ that was a perception perpetuated by some individuals.

"Players who were confused in terms of what they were reading in the media‚ they picked up the phone and phoned me and I cleared things out with them.

"I certainly had the players' support throughout the process and some of them even came to the office.

"Faf (Du Plessis) gave me a call and I sat down with him.

"I also went to Mumbai before the start of the IPL to clear things with him and he reiterated his support.

"What we wanted to achieve as CSA‚ we wanted to reaffirm our position as the employer and that if players are not happy their first point of call is us.”