United Cricket Board and Ministerial Committee on Transformation Report in South African Cricket: briefing

Since our last presentation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation on 20^th of May this year, the United Cricket Board of South Africa has had a series of Strategic Planning Workshops with its 11 Affiliates.

A Task Committee comprising Messrs Ray Mali (Chair: Development Sub-Committee and now President of the UCBSA); Brian Basson (General Manager: Cricket Affairs), Chris Day (UCBSA Transformation Consultant) and myself, held strategic planning meetings with Affiliates during the months of July and August 2003.

During these workshops, the Affiliates were represented by the President, CEO, Amateur Cricket Manager, Professional Cricket Manager, Transformation Representative, Convenor of Selectors, Senior Coach, Senior Captain, Women's Cricket Representative and any other relevant officials elected by the respective boards.

Sport and Recreation MECs, or their representatives in each Province were also invited to attend these workshops and we had an excellent response from these representatives.

• Have hands-on, two-way communication between the UCBSA office and Affiliates across the board.
• Outline the UCBSA's new structures and domestic competition formats under review.
• Launch the UCBSA's focus on club cricket this season.
• Development of Women's Cricket.
• Overview of Affiliates' strategic planning for the next three years.
• Review transformation targets for 2002/2003 and set new ones for 2003/2004.
• Review the report of the Ministerial Task Committee on Cricket Transformation.
• Report back to General Council on the above issues.

We had studied the Ministerial Committee's report before the workshops began, and our conclusion was that many of the findings coincided with the challenges that have been identified by the UCBSA and we are grateful to the Committee for drawing attention once again to the need to focus on these areas.

A study of the report, coupled to our own findings, pointed the finger squarely again on the need to focus on the development of club cricket - especially in previously disadvantaged communities.

When we applied our transformation policy to our own research and that of the Ministerial Committee, we saw that if we are going to bring about representivity through capacity building we have to do it at club level.

As the ministerial report pointed out, and as we know only too well, we have been concentrating in the main on the development of cricket at school level and at national team level.

The development at club level, has consequently marked time, and not gone forward at the required rate.

If we want to keep good schoolboys and girls in the game and develop them into international stars, then we have to use clubs to keep them in the game - and to launch them forward into first class and international cricket.

If we want to produce better administrators, better players, better coaches, and more spectators then we have to do it though club structures.

As the Ministerial report so aptly pointed out, representivity on its own is not enough - representivity has to be coupled to capacity building.

Again, if we are going to build capacity across the cricketing spectrum then the best place to do it is at club level.

Firstly, we have to look at our transformation policy.

The UCBSA's Transformation policy is based on that of the South African Sports Commission, and we see affirmative action as a programme of action that is designed to redress the imbalances of past discriminatory policies.

Within this framework, we have designated groups on whose behalf specific intervention is made because of historical imbalances based on discrimination.

In our case, the designated target groups are Blacks, Women and the Disabled. It is also recognised that within this group Black Africans were the worst historically disadvantaged, and advancement needs to be accelerated for this designated group.

Again, we are at one with the Ministerial Committee on these issues, and so when we apply them to the focus on club cricket then this accelerated advancement for this designated group must take place.

If capacity building is the solution, then education and training is the key to unlock the solution.

And so we have begun an excellent operational partnership with the South African Sports Commission, in conjunction with the relevant THETA, to run club administration courses throughout South Africa.

This education and training relationship with the Sports Commission will shortly become a formal agreement so there can be an exchange of training skills across the spectrum and implemented across the nation through cricket.

This is a very exciting progression, and has come about because of the in-put of our own people, the Sports Commission officers and the report of the Ministerial Committee.

We are also building other partnerships with Government at local, provincial and national level to address issues such as the provision of facilities, and most importantly, the maintenance of these facilities.

These are complex issues because community and school facilities fall under a myriad of regulatory factors controlled by different bodies and so we are seeking a way with our partners to break through the red tape and get the job done.

These are the club cricket development issues that we work-shopped with our Affiliates on our national strategic planning tour, and on each occasion we discussed regional issues raised by the Ministerial Committee's report.

And, as we have said, most of these issues revolved around club development in previously disadvantaged areas and so this reinforced our programme.

The standard of club cricket had deteriorated considerably over the past few years, and it was now imperative to rectify the situation.

Emphasis in the past few years had been placed on schools and first class cricket, with the gap widening considerably between the two through the neglect of club cricket.

There was also a dearth of good administrators coming through the system, particularly in Black African communities and club development, will address this.

Lack of funding, poor facilities and weak administration at club level were areas that needed to be addressed, and the UCBSA is to initiate the following as a matter of urgency:

• Seek a national sponsor for Provincial Club Premier Leagues.

Incentives will also be provided to keep non-contracted players in cricket club structures through:

• Selecting a combined national club team from non-contracted players at the MTN Club Championships to represent South Africa at the Africa Zone 6 Tournament.
• The MTN Club Champions playing a touring team "A" team, or touring abroad.

We are going to have follow up club development workshops with the Provinces and draw up a plan of action for each region and again the relevant information in the Ministerial Committee's report will be a reference. The draft club administration training document, which will form the basis of the workshops has been given to you.

Representatives from the all the relevant Government departments, including Sport and Recreation, will be part of this programme.

Initially, the Cricket World Cup Legacy Projects in the townships we be the main focus, and then we will look at other regions based on funding.

From 1995 to 2003, the United Cricket Board of SA have qualified more than

6 000 coaches from Bakers Mini Cricket to Level 4, which is one of the highest courses in the world. The UCB is going to direct this pool on coaching into club cricket to raise standards and to provide a bridge from junior cricket into first class cricket. Coaching at club level was highlighted in the Ministerial Committee's report as one of the biggest challenges facing SA cricket. We believe our response to this challenge will address this critical issue.

In terms of the UCBSA's policy, the implementation of transformation targets is the responsibility of Provincial Presidents and CEOs, with the National President and National CEO having ultimate responsibility to the UCBSA's General Council which sets the policy in the first place.

On wider representivity issues, we have in place a new monitoring system that is now going into its second season.

On the field representivity monitoring is done on a match-by-match, and CEOs are responsible for filling in forms that are sent to my office before matches begin.

In this way, we know exactly what is going to happen on the field from this point of view and we can intervene immediately if targets are not met.

In a recent case, we did not allow a women's match to take place between Easterns and KwaZulu-Natal because Easterns did not have the required target of a minimum of 50/50. This was picked up by the Easterns' CEO and we were able to take joint action.

However, we are most pleased to report that players' representivity targets are being more than met on the field at all levels and we would like to show you a few examples of this and how the system is monitored.

Free State Country Districts team report

Northerns women's team report

Griquas B team

Hong Six's

SA team to Pakistan

On wider representivity issues, it must be noted since our last meeting that a new General Council has been elected and the number of Black representatives has increased even further and now stands at 11 out of 17

We also now have our first Black African President, Boet Ray Mali, and this is true recognition for those many people who fought the good fight for cricket in the dark years of discrimination.

The development of Women's Cricket has also become a priority, and this, too, was a challenge highlighted by the Ministerial Committee's report.

The development of women's cricket is essential because:

• It is a designated target area for transformation according to the UCBSA's Transformation Policy.
• The SA Women's Cricket Association had been granted Associate Member status by the UCBSA.
• South Africa had been asked to host the 2005 Women's Cricket World Cup.

• A uniform development structure.
• Streamlined communication and action systems.
• Increased funding.
• More facilities in most regions.
• Integration into club structures.
• Improved coaching.
• Developing girls from Bakers Mini Cricket into women's hardball cricket.

The report on the implementation of transformation targets by the UCBSA and its Affiliates for this season was contained in the UCBSA presentation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation on May 20, 2003.

Gains had been made across the transformation spectrum, especially in designated target areas such as the advancement of Black Africans, women and the disabled. However, these remain major challenges and will require continued commitment and focus.

Targets for the new season have been advanced on the previous season, with special attention being given to representivity levels with coaching, umpiring, scoring, employment equity and capacity building of Black administrators.

Challenges that remain are the Black representivity levels at senior provincial coaching and captaincy, but these are improving.

Statistics for the new season are showing a trend of an increase of 10% across the board of Black representivity, and this translates into an expected average of 40% for professional cricket and above 60% for amateur cricket.

There are two graphic examples of this representivity trend. Firstly, the SuperSport match between Border & Western Province this week had 11 out of 22 black players on the field.

Secondly, the SuperSport player rankings for the season shows that black cricketers are in the forefront.

We would like to assure the members of Portfolio Committee and the Ministerial Committee that we appreciate your keen interest in the transformation process of South African cricket, and that we will continue to do the job in the best interest of cricket and South African sport.

Our President, Mr. Ray Mali, at the beginning of these proceedings recommitted the United Cricket Board of South Africa to working with the Portfolio Committee for Sport & Recreation and this commitment is fully endorsed by all structures of South African cricket.

Thank you for affording us this opportunity to have further dialogue with this committee.

My President and I will be happy to take any questions.

I thank you.