Things haven’t come easy for most cricketing boards around the world since the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenues have been hit big-time and they are working day and night to get back on their feet once again. Almost every cricket board is hopeful of conducting big-ticket bilateral competitions. However, things have been pretty blurry for Cricket South Africa (CSA).
England’s white-ball tour of South Africa was called off midway through in December 2020 due to the alleged bio-bubble breach and in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Three T20Is were played, but the three-match ODI series remained incomplete. Sri Lanka toured for a couple of Test matches and that went through smoothly. Pakistan women toured for three ODIs and as many T20Is, and that tour was completed fairly well too.
However, the big ticket series was the one against Australia. The South African men’s team were scheduled to play three Test matches against Tim Paine and his men. That series was also a part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC). However, the Aussies pulled out of the tour due to concerns over COVID-19. And this was in spite of CSA’s promise that they would do anything in their power to keep the teams safe in a biosecure bubble. The series was postponed indefinitely and that prompted CSA to register an official complaint with the ICC.
Even if we don’t win [at the ICC] – I don’t think there’s any precedent for it – the message is loud and clear. It’s important that the members get together and support each other and try and find ways to get as much done as we possibly can. That added to the disappointment of Australia. Everyone [else] we’ve worked with has had that mindset and understood that. My sense is that Australia didn’t, and that’s what let us down. No matter what we offered them I doubt we would have been able to get them over the line.
CSA’s director of cricket Graeme Smith was quoted saying during his commentary stint in the ongoing CSA T20 Challenge, which is being played at the Kingsmead in Durban.
However, there was some good news as well. Irrespective of whether CSA wins their battle against Cricket Australia (CA) for the cancellation of the series, India and England are in South Africa’s corner. Smith stated that the relationship between the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) and the England Cricket Board (ECB) were developing and are only getting better. And this despite England pulling out of the ODI series halfway through the tour in December. India and England have been very supportive of South Africa. The former South African captain also mentioned that there are a host of tours against India that is being planned and they are pretty close to being finalised as well.
Myself and Sourav go a long way back, and we’ve had a number of conversations. India in particular has been very supportive of us. Hopefully in the next cycle we’ll have a number of tours against India that are pretty close to being finalised, actually. [ECB chief executive] Tom Harrison and the ECB have been brilliant as well. Even the way Tom handled the situation from behind the scenes [in December] with England was good. Those matches have already been rescheduled [though not announced]. There’s been a joint resolution and an understanding of that.
Smith added.
Thus, Smith also said that the South African teams will be very busy post the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they build-up to the T20 World Cup later this year. Before the IPL, South Africa are scheduled to face Pakistan for three ODIs and four T20Is from April 2nd to April 16th.
