Graeme Smith set to finally take over as South Africa's director of cricket
After seeing the board enter a diabolic situation, Cricket South Africa (CSA) have turned to Graeme Smith to save them from further embarrassment as the former skipper is set to take over as South Africa's director of cricket. Jacques Faul is set to be the acting chief executive for the time being.
Cricket South Africa has been in absolute shambles, with Standard Bank ending their 21-year-long association as the major sponsor with the national team. Although Thabang Moroe had already been suspended from his role as chief executive, the crisis doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. However, to tackle the situation in war-footing, CSA have pinned their hopes on Graeme Smith and Jacques Faul to for a better future.
While Smith, one of the most respected names in world cricket, was South Africa's captain from 2003 to 2014 and took them to the No. 1 Test ranking, Faul guided CSA out of another crisis by serving in the same position in 2012 and 2013.
Chris Nenzani, CSA's president, said on Saturday that Smith was close to shaking hands on a deal: "We have engaged him and he has agreed that by next week Wednesday, all the negotiations around the contract terms that need to take place will have been concluded," Nenzani was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
In pure cricketing terms, Smith has little administrative experience. But his stellar playing and captaincy career were hoped to be the base on which CSA would try to restructure their plan going ahead. On the other hand, Faul, who is currently working as the chief executive of the Titans franchise and is amongst the most experienced and respected administrators in South Africa, had earlier stepped in to fill the gaps when CSA suspended former chief executive Gerald Majola over undeclared bonuses.
"We had a very robust meeting. It was very honest in terms of addressing the issues. But at the end of the day, or at the end of the night, or in the morning, the members council supported and endorsed the board to continue in its role and move forward in its efforts to turn the organisation around," Nenzani said.