CSA now faces players’ strike threat

THERE may be an additional item on the agenda at Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) emergency board meeting on Saturday if the country’s players follow through with the threat of a strike.

The South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca), which represents the country’s professional players, including the men’s and women’s Proteas, said yesterday that it would hold a meeting of its players’ executive committee and management board to discuss the manner in which the association and the players were being treated by CSA.

“This discussion is likely to include the possibility of the players taking some form of industrial, or protest, action,” said Saca chief executive Tony Irish.

“Saca has always considered strike, and other similar forms of industrial action, to be a very last resort and in Saca’s 17 years of dealing with CSA to date, not one day of cricket has ever been lost to industrial action.

“Things have now reached a stage where we must ask what Saca and the players are expected to do when the leadership of CSA, both operationally and on its board, continues to ignore our legitimate concerns and refuse to acknowledge the players as key stakeholders in the game,” Irish said.

His final point was illustrated in an apology made by CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe on Tuesday evening that he addressed to “key stakeholders” which included fans, sponsors, the media, but not the players.

“CSA says it’s been engaging with key stakeholders,” Irish tweeted after Moroe’s apology. “No engagement with us. Clearly it doesn’t consider @SACAplayers and players as key stakeholders.”

The rift between CSA and Saca has widened in the last 12 months.