By Fakir Hassen, IANS,
Johannesburg: Amid growing anger among fans, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has asked the Minister of Sport and Recreation to appoint a mediator to resolve its dispute with the provincial Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) which may see no international games at the Wanderers stadium here.
The spat began when GCB, owners of the historic Wanderers, asked questions around the Indian Premier League (IPL) contract with CSA, which the latter refused to provide.
CSA Gerald Majola said in a statement: “CSA has informed the GCB that it is keen to resolve this matter amicably, and that we agree with GCB that it should be referred to mediation.
“In the circumstances, CSA has asked the Minister of Sport and Recreation to appoint a mediator as a matter of urgency in this regard, and we will inform GCB of the outcome of our request to the Minister.”
GCB Chairman Barry Skjoldhammer said he welcomed the decision for the Minister to mediate the matter, subject to a neutral party who understood cricket being appointed.
Any decision by the mediator would be respected, he added.
GCB wants CSA to provide the contract it had negotiated with the IPL, to establish the conditions of the series that saw South Africa benefiting by almost two billion rands when the games were played out here because of security concerns during the elections in India.
But in an interview on Talk Radio 702, CSA President Mtutuzeli Nyoka dismissed suggestions of possible big IPL bonus payments to CSA officials being the reason for the refusal to share the contract.
After a meeting of affiliates a fortnight ago, CSA announced that GCB should apologise to the national authority for the game, as well as the BCCI and IPL for allegedly defamatory remarks made in the documents. Until such an apology, no international games would be permitted at the Wanderers.
Remaining resolute not to apologise until it had seen the contract between the IPL and CSA, GCB has already lost three matches in the coming England tour to other venues in the country as CSA carried out its threat.
CSA also announced Thursday that South Africa will not play at the Wanderers during the International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy in September.
The ICC earlier said scheduling decisions vested with the national authority of the host country, although the English Cricket Board had earlier expressed concern on behalf of fans about travel and accommodation arrangements that had already been made for the previously announced games at Wanderers.
South African fans were also irate at the possibility of never seeing any international games at Wanderers again.