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Arthur bowled by out-of-form Ntini
The decision to drop the iconic Makhaya Ntini after a series of mediocre performances signalled the beginning of the end for Mickey Arthur as coach of South Africa. Sources close to Cricket South Africa (CSA) revealed how Arthur and Graeme Smith, the national captain, were lambasted at a national meeting on 19 January for the decision to drop Ntini during the Test series against England. But the turmoil is far from over.
Ntini featured in his 100th Test for South Africa at Centurion, but captured only two wickets. In fact, he was below par and it was generally accepted that he would have been dropped for the second Test at Kingsmead in Durban.
He was retained in the squad and Friedel de Wet, a revelation in his first Test, was dropped – a decision that met with criticism from experienced commentators.
But after Ntini failed to capture any wickets in the second Test, the national selectors took the unprecedented step to drop him.
CSA announced in the past week that they are to restructure South African cricket on 19 February. Arthur, when presented with its new plans to restructure the game, decided that he did not share its vision.
CSA, according to our sources, wanted bowling coach Vincent Barnes to replace Arthur as national coach.
In fact, CSA is extremely keen that a black coach replaces Arthur and that the Proteas follow in the footsteps of Springbok rugby, which appointed Peter de Villiers to replace Jake White.
Barnes, though, was not prepared to accept the new appointment without certain conditions. One of those was that he wanted to replace Graeme Smith as captain, sought the dismissal of Mark Boucher as wicketkeeper, while also demanding that Jeremy Snapes be fired as performance coach.
According to our sources, CSA was not prepared to meet those demands.
It might have caused a minor crisis of its own if it did.
Boucher was the joint Man of the Series with Graeme Swann at the end of the recent England tour in South Africa.
Smith did not have the best of series, but he was the man at the helm when the Proteas won Test series against Australia and England away from home. Why dispose of Smith after a few mediocre Test performances?
Smith not innocent
Smith, though, is not innocent either. He complained to Duncan Fletcher about Arthur’s performances. Fletcher apparently told him: “Why don’t you speak to Mickey?” But he did not do so.
In fact, when the appraisals were done after the English series, Smith apparently insisted that Arthur is not the right man to take the Proteas to the next level.
It was this vote of no confidence that sparked the decision by CSA to end the services of Arthur, although the official party line was that Arthur decided to quit on his own terms.
The new coach Corrie van Zyl, only an interim choice before CSA makes the final decision about a full-time appointment on 19 February, has indicated that he wants the position on a permanent basis.
He is a man with a superb track record, and on his previous visit to India in 2000 as an assistant national coach to Graham Ford, the Proteas won the Test series 2-0.
His good work ethic and his knowledge of Indian conditions may be his allies when South Africa embarks on the tour of two Tests and three One-Day Internationals.
CSA would be in an unenviable position if Van Zyl succeeds and the Proteas win the Test series 2-0 to replace India at the summit of the international Test rankings.
The fact that Barnes is not keen to take up the new position as national coach unreservedly may force CSA to stick with Van Zyl.
But that would meet with a storm of criticism from the political arena, and specifically parliament, which has been asking why there are no other Ntini’s being developed by CSA.
The greatest single reason for this has been a lack of strategic thinking by CSA.
One does not develop future national stars by forcing the national Under-19 selectors to pick seven black players in one's World Cup team.
Perhaps what is required, is a greater investment in academic and cricket scholarships to lure talented black cricketers to elite private schools in South Africa, a development that has been particularly successful in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
And CSA needs greater support from the government. Why is there only one cricket oval in the entire Soweto? Certainly, one cannot expect CSA to pay these developmental bills without a form of financial support from the government?
But ultimately, selecting a coach simply because he is black, or persisting with a woefully out-of-form Ntini simply because he is the right colour, will not solve cricket’s challenges either.
It has divided the cricket community and undermined the morale of a world-class team on the eve of its tour to India. It has also served to alienate one of the finest coaches in the world from the South African cricket establishment.
Persisting with this policy may do South Africa much more long-term harm than serving the cause of the national cricket team.
For tha last + _ 4 years Peter Kirsten (must i remind CSA that he used to be bit of a player) has been languishing in Mboyti in the north of the transkei coast and has not been utilised in the nursey of the potentially best area for nurturing a black criket revolution.CSA should admit their failure and rectify it without resorting to the blame game.
One last item - how is it that a cricketer with an ODI batting average in recent times of 48 is replaced by someone with an average of 19 (Amla versus Bosman)