South African cricket has a long and steep climb back to the top, but at least the players are finally on the same page.
The sport’s governing body, Cricket South Africa (CSA), has been a hotbed or scandals and mismanagement the better part of this new millennium.
But this week, in a scathing letter to their administration, the players called for the end of all of the carnage this past year.
We’re onto our third CEO since last December, not to mention a second president, and I get the feeling we haven’t seen the last of the comings and goings.
According to other reports, no doubt seen by the players, CSA is still not controlled by the new chief executive, Kugandrie Govender, but by another axis.
Factions like this in a sport that is need of direction is going to get us nowhere.
But while the Board and Operational teams play power games and vie to steal the most geld, at least the players seem to be on the same team.
And isn’t that great? Saying it now, you take all of that for granted.
But then you remember how quickly it all unravelled when pace ace Lungi Ngidi agreed that Black Lives Matters.
All Ngidi needed to do was say that the murder of an unarmed black man by US police was wrong to expose the deep racial divisions in the Proteas.
All of a sudden, ex-players like Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippennaar and Brian MacMillan had exposed their verkrampte attitudes to race in South Africa.
Now we know that cricket legend Makhaya Ntini felt lonely in a predominantly white team.
We know Ashwell Prince was never comfortable with being vice-captain when he was made to feel disposable by his captain Graeme Smith.
Now we hear that Jacques Kallis and Paul Harris made five times more than former teammates Robin Peterson and Justin Ontong as coaches.
So I guess it’s quite a momentous occasion when the national cricket players can stand with one voice.
And it’s about time that we see player power come to the party.
In a letter this week, they demanded, among other things, that the transformation pipeline be made stronger and more inclusive.
Players are demanding more of a say in their futures in the team.
And while sporting chance should be based on performance, sadly it hasn’t always worked out that way in here in South Africa.
But the players are explicit that this should be managed better by their CSA bosses, so that more disadvantaged kids get access to that game and their talents are recognised and developed.
It’s only in this way, that they team will be truly transformed.
Then you won’t have Pat Symcox and Brian MacMillan looking down on you because you get to practice five minutes late because you have to bike in from the township.
Then you won’t get lonely Makhayas on the team bus or your captain ignoring his coloured vice-captain.
Now it’s time that the rest of CSA pull it together.
Administrators need to recognise that they preside over the hopes and futures of people.
The Proteas have reminded them too that the viability of the game is at stake in SA, meaning that our cricketers’ livelihoods are under threat because of the massive mismanagement that has been coming since toeka.
Former Cricket South Africa boss Gerald Majola was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
And I “bet” Hansie Cronje and teammates wouldn’t have accepted bookies’ money if they were getting lekker geld.
Now this really could be the last Proteas team to play their franchise and First-Class cricket in Mzansi.
And where does that leave the kids who play cricket in the street, dreaming of playing at Newlands or under the bright floodlights at the Bullring?
I don’t think we get just how destructive cricket administrators have been to a game that has lent itself to the elite for so long.
Now, a game they have kept out of reach of so many people for so long is dying from what they see as a lack of interest and a bad image.
And finally, the players seem to care.
You wouldn’t have known it from their World Cup campaigns.