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- CSA launched the new 2020/21 season at Hammanskraal on Thursday.
- The male Proteas will finally return to the wicket after the England tour was approved this week.
- Kugandrie Govender said that obtaining government approval for the tour was critical to the organization’s bottom line.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) Acting Chief Executive Officer Kugandrie Govender couldn’t hide her joy that the UK tour continued in November after a tense wait for government approval in recent weeks.
Speaking at the CSA season launch at the Nelson Mandela Oval in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, on Thursday, Govender hinted that the three ODI and three T20I tours that began on November 27 were a financial lifesaver for the organization.
“England’s arrival in South Africa is huge,” he said.
“Financially, we really needed this. This past year, we had a pretty decent year financially. We closed with a profit of R50 million despite having forecast an operating loss of R67 million.
“We were very fortunate that Covid-19 peaked in the country during our off-season. To maintain the financial health of the organization, this English tour was critical.
“We are delighted, from a financial point of view and obviously from a management point of view. But equally important, from a cricket point of view.”
“We can’t wait to present some content for fans and we can’t wait to give something to our players so they can try it out.”
CSA has had an irritable relationship with the government lately due to boardroom issues that have plunged the organization into crisis since late 2019. The release of Fundudzi’s report to Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa prompted him to write to CSA threatening government intervention. .
However, they were able to convince the government, which had England on the Covid-19 high-risk travel countries list, of the critical need for internationals to go ahead.
“There are several levels of approval that need to happen; it’s bigger than cricket, bigger than sport, and the health and safety of human beings is at stake,” Govender explained.
“It is something that we have to take seriously as citizens, before we do our jobs. We all have to make sure that the people around us are safe.
“We have been very engaged with Internal Affairs, the Department of Health and the Ministry of Sports. We are delighted that we were able to provide sufficient mitigation against the risks so that we can organize a successful event.
“We also received a lot of guidance from the ECB, which welcomed Pakistan, Australia and the West Indies into their country during the peak of the pandemic.”
“They put together a successful series with no Covid-19 cases. The key takeaway here is that CSA did everything possible to ensure we have a safe tournament for everyone.”
Proteas and England matches will be played in the Western Cape. Visitors will arrive in mid-November and will be quarantined for 10 days before the start of official matches, which will end on December 9.
Govender was confident that his readiness to host a nation that has been playing cricket for almost the entire run, against the West Indies, Pakistan and Australia, would ensure the Proteas were competitive at home.
The last time England were in the country, they took a 3-1 Test Series victory as well as the T20I 2-1 Series.
“The prep program started a while ago,” Govender said.
“It started with culture camp and there have been individual training sessions within many training settings.
“This is all in preparation for a season in which [we want] minimum injuries and maximum time for conditioning.
“As a federation, we have also had to change gears a bit and do things a little differently, and we are up to the task.”
