Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) board of directors contains a full house of expertise covering topics ranging from the law to finance, marketing, broadcasting and cricket, but has managed what’s akin to a “soft dismissal” when dealing with the David Teeger affair.
What a mess it is.
And not the first time either for an organisation which simply can’t free itself of controversy and whose management and communication are so horrendous that had it been a player, CSA would have been dropped and sent back to the “B” team to find itself again.
It is worth stating the organisation does find itself in a very tricky position regarding Teeger.
When 19-year-old Teeger made his remarks in support of the Israeli Defence Force on receiving the “Rising Star Award” at the Jewish Achiever Awards last October, he wasn’t captain of the under-19 team nor was he in a World Cup squad because one hadn’t been named yet.
A provisional team was only announced on November 10, after which reports emerged citing unhappiness about his comments.
CSA made the correct decision in appointing advocate Wim Trengove to chair an inquiry after complaints about whether Teeger had breached sections of its code of conduct.
Trengove subsequently found he hadn’t.
That is when CSA’s management of that process went into disarray.
On December 7 when releasing Trengove’s findings, CSA’s board should have made a decision about Teeger’s future as captain and removed him from the position.
He was already firmly in the spotlight, one that glared brighter once the International Cricket Council had made its decision to move the Under-19 World Cup to South Africa after the suspension of Sri Lanka.
Instead CSA stated it “considers the matter as being closed and will make no further comment”.
That’s not how communication management works, certainly not in the 21st century, and definitely not for an organisation with CSA’s recent history.
That a board with the kind of expertise CSA has didn’t foresee trouble ahead shows poor judgment.
It would have received criticism anyway, but making the decision to remove Teeger as captain and basing that decision on care for a young player and a team that was suddenly under more scrutiny was a move that could have assuaged much of the tension that has arisen since then.
There are certainly very strong concerns within CSA about security around South Africa matches at the under-19 World Cup.
A senior official told the Sunday Times: “Imagine if because of protests someone gets hurt or worse because a rubber bullet is fired. We don’t want that happening at a cricket match.”
The security assessments handed to CSA apparently make no direct reference to Teeger or any other player’s safety but it does concern what may happen with protests planned for Friday’s opening match between South African and the West Indies in Potchefstroom.
The Palestinian Solidarity Alliance has applied for a permit to protest, though its involvement in other protests haven’t led to violence, which would make concerns seem unnecessary.
Nevertheless, if there were security concerns, CSA needs to be seen to be acting responsibly.
Of course the broader context cannot be ignored and, specifically, government’s decision to launch a case before the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide. South Africa made its case in Amsterdam on Thursday. On Friday CSA stripped Teeger of the captaincy. Again CSA and its leadership refused to communicate publicly beyond its statement about its decision.
CSA is walking a fine line, and finding that balancing on it is nearly impossible. It has been accused, in mainstream media and on social media, of infringing on Teeger’s right to free expression.
One senior official said the organisation accepted it would upset everyone with whatever decision it made regarding Teeger, and it “is a storm they would have to ride out over the coming weeks”.
That may be so, but CSA broadly remains an organisation the public cannot trust. It is trying to rebuild bridges in the wake of its own management drama which led to forensic audits and government intervention less than five years ago and ultimately to the new administrative structure.
CSA has not shaken off the widely held belief that it is inept, and the recent poor management of the Teeger episode adds to other matters it has bungled since the new board structure, with its majority independent directors, was confirmed in 2021. From the Black Lives Matter kneeling issue that saw Quinton de Kock withdraw hours before a World Cup match and the lack of Test cricket, to the continued delay in appointing a head coach for the women’s team, which is understood to be mired in politics, CSA simply can’t come up with a clear strategy that outlines a path forward.
As a result trust is lacking with the public and potential sponsors. These are weighty world issues confronting CSA, but managing them was the kind of thing a new, more independent board, with a range of expertise, was expected to do. Instead CSA finds itself trying to put out fires everywhere while creating new ones at the same time.
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