By Fakir Hassen, IANS
Johannesburg : The South African national squad wants to have the president of Cricket South Africa, Norman Arendse, disciplined for allegedly describing the Proteas as being greedy for money, the media reported here Wednesday.
Members of the team, currently touring Bangladesh, were reported to be angry about the report in a Sunday newspaper in which Arendse made the remarks.
The relationship between Arendse, coach Mickey Arthur and chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA) Gerald Majola has been stormy in recent weeks over the president’s alleged interference in the selection of the side to tour Bangladesh.
Several unidentified team members had reportedly sided with the coach in the fight, even threatening to boycott the tour.
The Afrikaans daily Beeld said rumours were rife that some players had planned to introduce a motion of no confidence against Arendse at the CSA last week, but decided against this after both the president and Majola apologised for the incidents preceding the tour.
The players don’t have the authority to propose a no confidence debate but can demand that Arendse be officially charged and appear before a disciplinary committee.
Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricket Players Association (SACPA), confirmed that the players were unhappy about Arendse’s latest allegations. These include alleged statements that the players were too money hungry and would therefore not go on strike; as well as claims that the black majority (in South Africa) couldn’t wait for (the mainly white) players to go on strike.
The essence of Arendse’s alleged interference with selection has been his reported insistence on having more black players in the side to effect the transformation plans of CSA.