Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are in discussions about the impact the change of three venues will have on English supporters who have already booked for the tour of South Africa by England later this year.

Gerald Majola, CSA CEO, said Wednesday: “David Collier, my counterpart at the ECB, has asked for clarification following enquiries by British travel agents who have sold packages based on the previous venues.

“The venue changes were made on the basis of a minimum impact in this regard, and we are in discussions with the ECB about this.”

The venue changes came about following a decision by CSA’s Members Forum, comprising all CSA’s Affiliates, that no international matches under the auspices of CSA will be allocated to the Wanderers Stadium until the Gauteng Cricket Board supplies CSA with its conditions for staging such matches at this venue, and until the GCB apologises for its criticism of the management of the recent Indian Premier League held in South Africa.

Cricket South Africa relocated the three Wanderers’ matches to Durban (Standard Bank International Pro20), Bloemfontein (MTN ODI) and Port Elizabeth (Castle Test) when the Forum’s conditions were not met by GCB.

Johannesburg – The war of words between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) moved up a gear on Saturday.

This followed a defiant response from the GCB to threats made by CSA to withhold international cricket from the Wanderers Stadium.

GCB chairman Barry Skjoldhammer said in a statement on Saturday that it was not in the interests of CSA, GCB, national team, sponsors or cricket lovers to suspend allocation of international matches to the Wanderers Stadium.

“The terms and conditions that CSA is currently seeking to impose on GCB [and other provinces] would, if accepted by GCB, destroy the financial viability of the Wanderers Stadium.”

“And GCB’s ability to maintain the Stadium as one of cricket’s great venues,” said Skjoldhammer.

“This would deprive the huge number of Gauteng cricket fans access to international cricket matches.”

He said the proposed CSA model would also undermine GCB’s viability as a provincial cricket union that serves the interests of amateur cricket through hundreds of club league teams.

These included development programmes that reached thousand of children.

CSA president, Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka said on Friday that no international matches would be played at the Wanderers until the GCB had apologised for allegations made against CSA chief executive Gerald Majola.

The row between CSA and the GCB erupted over complaints made by the GCB against Majola regarding the handling of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was held in South Africa earlier this year.

CSA’s Members Forum, comprising all CSA’s affiliates, met on Friday to discuss the GCB’s complaints and to allow Majola to present an overview of the IPL tournament.

The meeting was called by Nyoka, who said after the meeting that the Forum had unanimously accepted Majola’s overview and had congratulated him on outstanding work in obtaining and hosting such a prestigious event.

“The Forum rejected with contempt the allegations of mismanagement against Mr Majola, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the IPL, which were made by the Gauteng Cricket Board,” Nyoka said.

He said the Forum had asked the GCB to unconditionally withdraw the allegations and to apologise to CSA’s president and chief executive, as well as to the BCCI.

It had also asked the GCB to indicate what the conditions for hosting international matches at the Wanderers under the auspices of CSA were.

“Until both the apology and the hosting conditions are submitted, there will be no international matches at the Wanderers under the auspices of CSA,” said Nyoka.

However, Skjoldhammer said the GCB would not respond to Nyoka until it had received a response from CSA’s Audit and Risk Committee to a letter it had written on June 4.

“In that letter we stated that on the basis of information that was known to us and available to us at that time, we believed that CSA had been exposed to material financial risk by the manner in which CSA had conducted contractual negotiations with the IPL,” said Skjoldhammer.

“There is nothing in Dr Nyoka’s statement that addresses that issue.”

Skjoldhammer said that other issues raised by the GCB included CSA’s refusal to make details of its contract with the IPL known to the GCB, as well as its refusal to participate in negotiations between the GCB and the IPL.

This was though CSA was the only party with knowledge of the contract under which the IPL claimed to have acquired rights over the Wanderers Stadium, he said.

“GCB has been endeavouring to negotiate with CSA for seven years regarding the terms and conditions applicable to the hosting of international matches at the Wanderers,” said Skjoldhammer.

“Throughout this time, CSA has persistently declined or failed to engage GCB in any form of direct discussions.”

Regarding Nyoka’s demand that the GCB apologise to the BCCI and the IPL, Skjoldhammer said there was nothing in the letter to the Audit and Risk Committee that referred to the BCCI, nor was there any evaluation or comment on the IPL’s behaviour.

Source: Sport24

Cricket South Africa’s Members Forum, comprising CSA’s Affiliates, Friday “rejected with contempt” complaints made by the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) against CSA’s CEO, Gerald Majola, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the organisers of the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL) over their handling of the tournament in South Africa.

A meeting of the CSA Members Forum was called by CSA President, Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka, to allow Majola to present a high level overview of the tournament and to discuss GCB’s complaints.

Dr Nyoka said in a statement issued after the meeting: “The CSA Members Forum unanimously accepted the high level overview from Mr Majola and congratulated him on outstanding work in obtaining and successfully hosting such a prestigious tournament at such short notice.

“The Members Forum gave a full vote of confidence in him.

“The Forum rejected with contempt the allegations of mismanagement against Mr Majola, the BCCI and IPL which were made to CSA by the Gauteng Cricket Board.

“The Forum has asked the GCB to unconditionally withdraw these allegations and apologise to CSA’s President and CEO as well as to CSA as a whole and the BCCI.

“The Forum has asked the GCB to indicate what their conditions are for hosting international matches at the Wanderers Stadium under the auspices of CSA.

“Until both the apology and the hosting conditions are submitted, there will be no international matches staged at the Wanderers Stadium under the auspices of CSA.

“This will not have a bearing on the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa in September as this is an ICC event.”

Dr Nyoka said Majola’s overview showed that CSA, the hosting Affiliates and South Africa had benefitted handsomely across the board from hosting the tournament.

“CSA was due to receive a $3-million hosting fee, but Mr Majola negotiated R30-million fee, a sum of R6-million more than the current exchange on $3-million.

“The IPL also agreed to increase its contractual liability from R125k per match day to R125k per match, giving those who hosted double-headers extra revenue,” Dr Nyoka said.

“Stadia hosting fees will total a clear-profit R7.4million. IPL will play all extra costs, including the cost of relocating suite holders and the “public thank you” advertisements placed by CSA after the tournament. The IPL has also donated R7.5-million to South African school bursary funds”.

“The IPL has reported that the total spend on the tournament was R1.7-billion, it generated 25 000 hotel room nights and 6 000 flights.

“It had a global television audience with ratings an impressive 11% higher than the inaugural event in India last year.

“More than 800 000 people watched the 59 games at the eight stadia in South Africa’s major centres.

“The tournament was a resounding success acclaimed throughout the international sporting world and was a big boost for South Africa ahead of the FIFA Confederations Cup and World Cup.

“The only negative to come out of this has been the unacceptable behaviour of the Gauteng Cricket Board both during and after the tournament”,  Dr Nyoka said.

VS

JOHANNESBURG: Here’s a sneak preview of the game between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils to be played at the Wanderers ground on Saturday.

What’s at stake:Both sides would like to carry the winning momentum after registering confidence boosting wins in Centurion on Thursday. Delhi Daredevils defeated the unbeaten Deccan Chargers by six wickets while Chennai Super Kings overwhelmed defending champion Rajasthan Royals by 38 runs.

Captain vs captain:: Delhi Daredevils may have to make do without the services of their captain Virender Sehwag who needed to have four stitches to his left hand during the match against the Deccan Chargers. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will smell blood after Sehwag almost ruled himself out of the Saturday’s encounter.

Key battles:L Balaji will have to lock horns with in-form local boy AB deVilliers while Muttiah Muralitharan will try to bowl out fellow countryman T Dilshan with a ‘doorsa’. Dirk Nannes would like to repeat his match-winning performance when he faces the likes of Matthew Hayden. Another interesting battle will be between Daniel Vettori and Dhoni.

Team news: Delhi Daredevils are likely to miss the services of Sehwag.

Form guide: The Delhi Daredevils bowling has improved thanks to some excellent work by left-arm new ball bowlers Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra. Chennai Super Kings middle-order including the likes of Suresh Raina, S Badrinath and Dhoni has struck form and it will be a keenly-fought contest.

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The Indian Premier League matches scheduled for the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg will go ahead as planned with officials of the Gauteng Cricket Board reaching a solution with IPL bosses.

The Wanderers is scheduled to host eight IPL matches – six regular season matches between May 2 to 19, a semi-final on May 23 and the final on May 24 – but the venue was in doubt due to a row over VIP suites at the stadium.

The IPL had demanded exclusive use of the suites at the stadium, but suite-holders had refused and Alan Kourie, the chief executive of the GCB, said: “We are happy and proud to have reached an amicable resolution with the IPL.”

He added: “It now clears the way for hosting the business end of one of the best cricketing leagues in the world.

“Gauteng cricket fans will now be able to witness some truly amazing cricketers in action at our very own Wanderers Stadium,” he said.

IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi was equally happy.

“We are extremely pleased with the co-operation of the Gauteng Cricket Board and in particular the assistance received from Alan Kourie,” he said.

“I am glad the fans in Johannesburg will now be able to witness the IPL.”

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Cape Town: Wanderers hosting the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, including the second semifinal and the final, is still in doubt as the organisers and the local cricket association have not been able to resolve the issue of VIP suites at the Johannesburg stadium.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has reportedly even threatened not to use Wanderers, the largest stadium in the country with 10,000 more seats than any other venue.

The dispute between the IPL and the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) is over the IPL’s demand for all the suites in the main pavilion to accommodate its VIP guests including Bollywood stars during the six league games, one semi-final and the final scheduled to be held there.

The IPL organisers and local cricket authorities at the other venues have resolved the dispute over suites without much of a hassle.

There is still time for the matter to be resolved as the first match at Wanderers, between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils, is to be played only on May 2.

GCB said it had complied with the initial IPL request to make 2,400 suite seats available for the semifinal and the final, including the use of the prestigious Long Room President’s Suite.

GCB cited contractual obligations with its suite holders which did not allow it to accede to the IPL request.

“We have considered the IPL’s request, but we regret it is not possible to release all the suites,” the report quoted GCB.

The IPL has offered to provide free tickets in the main pavilion of Wanderers for suite holders as well as a demarcated area for their refreshments, but it appears that CSA would have to foot the bill for this from the 30 million rands it is reportedly getting for hosting the series.

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Lalit Modi is clearly a ‘visionary’ which, as Albert Einstein and Siegmund Freud found out often during their lives, can simply mean that people think you are a nutter.

Visionaries see things that other people can’t, like a sea of goodwill and hundreds of thousands of open arms embracing you. Sometimes visionaries cannot see what everyone else is being slapped in the face with.

Modi told an assembled gathering of journalists in Cape Town on Thursday that the IPL had encountered nothing but generosity and co-operation. In fact, that isn’t quite true.

So untrue, in fact, that by late Friday afternoon the Wanderers stadium was prepared to withdraw as a host venue rather than accede to requests (or demands, depending on your point of view) from the IPL which they believe to be excessive and unreasonable.

“They can take their tournament somewhere else, they can hold the final somewhere else,” said one member of staff. “Unless they change their attitude then I can’t see a way forward. They are renting our facility, not buying it. We have protocols which we respect and expect them to do likewise.”

Evidence was there for all to see outside the stadium on Friday morning that the rift between the Wanderers and the IPL was more than mere posturing. Notices were pinned outside the ticket office informing punters: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, tickets for IPL matches will not be going on sale today as originally planned.”

Modi also said that over 700 people were working full-time on the IPL. He was sitting next to Francois Pienaar and Etienne de Villiers when he said it, two marketing men who earn considerably more than the assistant ground staff at various venues around the country who have been forced to postpone their annual leave by more than a month with little or no compensation.

Every South African service supplier who has agreed to assist in staging the IPL has a similar story to tell. Being ‘squeezed’ to the point of distraction on cost, unintelligible contracts, ever changing demands and constantly moving goal posts. Eventually it just becomes too much. The Wanderers are not the first to withdraw their offer of services.

In India, it is virtually impossible to enter a carpet or souvenir shop and emerge without a purchase. The hustle and bustle of bargaining and the determination to clinch a ‘deal’ is part of life, an important part of life. Visitors to the country learn, very quickly, to say ‘no’ immediately unless they really want something and are prepared to spend a long time going through the process of buying it.

But at the end of a long season in South Africa, the country’s cricket-folk are yearning for a simple life with simple agreements which can be relied upon. Modi could do with readjusting his ‘vision’ in order to see what is really happening.

Otherwise many South Africans may be left with the impression that the IPL has breezed into town, fired a couple of warning shots and laid down the law. Safe in the knowledge that they won’t ever be coming back and have to worry about crossing burnt bridges.

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Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel put on a world class batting performance to help South Africa to victory by four wickets with four balls to spare in the first Standard Bank Pro20 international against Australia at Liberty Life Wanderers in Johannesburg on Friday. Earlier in the evening, the Australians posted 166/7 with more than half those runs coming from the bat of David Hussey. Australia were in deep trouble in the 10th over; they were 71/5 as a result of the failure of four of the top six Australian batsmen not reaching double figures.

Hussey was in total control as he raced to 88 runs off 44 balls while the rest of the Australian team crumbled. Hussey got hold of Dale Steyn in the 18th and 20th over, smashing him for 32 runs.

South Africa started slow with Amla and Gibbs opening the batting, the pressure of a climbing run rate took its toll as the batsmen tried to engineer run scoring shots. The regular fall of wickets put South Africa in a spot of trouble and by the 15th over  they needed 62 runs with five batsmen already back in the dugout.

At one point The Proteas needed 12 runs per over and it didn’t look like a victory for South Africa was on the cards; enter the explosive Albie Morkel and the ever cool Mark Boucher. The experience of Mark Boucher ensured the run rate picked up, with the now established ODI and Pro20 player Albie Morkel at the other end hitting a match winning 37 off 19 balls.

Liberty Life Wanderers was packed to capacity; the expectant crowd as vocal as ever as in every encounter between the home side and the Australians at the bull ring. The spectacular turn out was a fantastic advertisement for local cricket and the upcoming IPL to be hosted in South Africa. Not even a short interruption from the lights going out could put a dampener on the event.

We look forward to another great game at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday afternoon.

The Ball Theory; as explained by fans at the Wanderers