About 16 years ago, I read an article in the South African Sports Illustrated entitled, “Nice guys come second”, and it was about Dave Richardson. True, South Africa were still new in the international cricket arena after many years of isolation, but even then it was apparent that Richardson’s genial manner behind the stumps was never going to allow him to steal the spotlight. Even when he scored 93 and 100+ in the New Zealand test series in 1994/95, his performances were overshadowed by the excellent bowling of Fanie de Villiers.
The game has certainly evolved, but one thing remains constant is that nice guys, and even great players, are not bigger than the administrators of cricket. Loyalty is not a word that is found in the vocabulary of many cricket administrators around the world.
Just look at Steve Waugh. There’s a difference between being dropped because you’re performing badly and being scooted out because administrators and coaches are wanting to go in a different direction. Steve Waugh, after more than 12 years of test cricket and 5 as captain, he deserved better than to be shunned away from the Australian setup. His form in limited-overs cricket may have been dwindling, but he still had done enough to warrant a place in the 2003 World Cup team, even if it was just for the morale boost of the younger players.
It has happened frequently in the South African National setup, where great players have been discarded. In recent years, it has happened to Lance Klusener, Nico Boje, Andrew Hall, Andre Nel and the biggest of all, Shaun Pollock. There is question as to whether those players deserved to be dropped. My answer is “no”. Klusener, Boje, Pollock and Hall were unceremoniously pushed out of the national setup…they had no chance. Polly was the number 3 bowler in the world at the time of his sacking, and the final test at Kingsmead that he played, proved what a contributor he was. That won’t change, he’ll perform wherever he goes, as can be seen in the IPL and the current ECB Twenty20 tournament.
This sort of attitude has filtered down to the local scene. At the end of last season, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher were dropped for the Cape Cobras’ vital Pro20 playoff match. Maybe not dropped, just not selected since they hadn’t played any matches for the Cobras prior to that. Two months later, coach Shukri Conrad has come out to say that Kallis and Boucher were not good enough to make his team.
That statement would have had “The Don” or WG turning in their graves. The best all-rounder in the world (Kallis) and one of South Africa’s most explosive batsmen (Boucher) were being told that they were not good enough to play in a semi-final.
While both players, along with Prince, have indicated that this was not the primary reason for their move from the western cape franchise to the Eastern Cape Warriors, this certainly would have added to whatever problems they were having previously.
This is all just another example of how no matter how excellent of a player you are, you will never be a true winner because the administrators will always have the final say. Kallis but in 12 years at Western Province. Prince put in 10. The least the Western Province Cricket Union could have done was ensure that these two were rewarded for their loyalty to the Union.
Watch this space, as there will be more to come…and no doubt, more South African cricket making the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Tags: administrators, boucher, dropped, hall, kallis, klusener, loyalty, pollock, prince, waugh
