SA cricketers refuse to deal with board

CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s cricket crisis continued on Monday when the South African Cricketers’ Association repeated its call for Cricket South Africa’s board to resign - and said it would refuse to negotiate with any members of the board.

SACA chief executive Tony Irish said his organisation, which represents the country’s professional cricketers, was prepared to deal with interim chief executive Jacques Faul but not with any CSA panel if it included members of the board.

In a statement, Irish said the suspension of chief executive Thabang Moroe, announced on Friday, should have been followed by the resignation of the board.

CSA president Chris Nenzani announced the appointment of Faul at a press conference after a board meeting on Saturday and claimed that a deal was close to being signed for former Test captain Graeme Smith to become director of cricket. But Nenzani brushed off widespread calls for the board to resign. SACA’s statement listed a large number of issues which had arisen under the board’s watch.