Bob Woolmer
>From the Pavilion
I really get upset when I hear and read bickering within my own game. I was going to use the words “petty bickering” to start, but when it gets to the level of the president of the United Cricket Board (UCB) resigning, then petty goes out of the window and even bickering may have to take a back seat. I hate it when organisations wash their dirty linen in public. It gives me the sense that all is not well within the game – and it worries me.
I am, and always will be, a fan of the game of cricket, not just a fan but passionate about the greatest sport invented. So you can imagine my feeling as I sit outside the hallowed halls and have to read all the stories.
South African cricket has, above all other sports, made tremendous strides to get rid of the inequalities of the past. Millions have been spent on development, some would argue wisely and some unwisely.
The fact is that the money has been raised and the intentions are good. Remember that cricket was the first sporting code to have an organised development programme.
In other countries, like Australia, there is massive financial backing from the government. In Britain there is massive lottery support for all the sports. By comparison, in South Africa government spending on sport is miniscule, and the lottery is yet to come. So you have to take your hat off to the UCB for the amount of time and effort that they have gone into with their sponsors – Standard Bank, Castle, MTN, Plascon, and so on – for the amount of money spent in redressing the balance.
Of course there are going to be slips in the process, of course people are going to be quoted out of context, yes,there will be problems. Transformation is an excellent process, and I use the word process carefully, because that is what it is, a process. It is not instant coffee – mix it with hot water and you have the finished article. It is a huge jigsaw puzzle, which needs time and people to finish it.
I have no intentions of getting mixed up in politics as I am not and do not ever want to be a politician. For a start, I know as much about politics as I know about coal mining and any politician would be able to shoot me down in flames.
However, I believe I would be able to shoot any politician down in flames when it comes to cricket.
I recently watched the PG Bison week and the Coca-Cola week (the U15 and U19 tournaments, respectively) and I saw massive transformation. I had not been for four seasons and I was really interested to see the change. It was dramatic. I take this as a sign that development is working. I know change is inevitable and I am ready to accept change. I am not ready to accept change when or if it compromises the “good of the game” in South Africa.
The next few months in South Africa will be not only interesting but cricket lovers will do well to watch and listen very carefully to the manoeuvrings that are taking place behind the scenes. I already detect a slight and gradual mood change within the national side. This is only my gut feel and it has no inside information attached to it.
But I detect a different rhythm in the team, I suspect – sorry, know, as that is their nature – that they are trying like mad for South Africa. I suspect also that they wonder what is going on off the field, and are slightly worried. Cricket is the ultimate team game for individuals. Cricket has been tested by many of those individuals and has spurned them all. For cricket is bigger than any individual.
Gerald Majola, who wrote the letter urging Ray White to resign, is a new member of the board; he is a first-time selector this year and recently he was quoted as saying what he was doing was good for the game of cricket in South Africa. We all sincerely hope that he is right, because cricket in this country is a vibrant and growing sport, yet it needs careful and experienced handling.
There are a lot of people who love South African cricket with a passion and who are working every day in the field for its upliftment and transformation. The game in the end is about the players. The success of the South African side is important for the cricket-loving public and for the sponsors, who provide the cash that enables the work to continue. One such illustration is staring us in the face. The English cricket board, whose shop window, the England team, has produced declining performances over the past few seasons, is now suffering sponsorship withdrawals and struggling for new sponsorship.
I have been proud to work for the UCB and have pledged my allegiance and assistance wherever I can. I am overjoyed to see the progress that in 1991 was so far away. So much has been achieved in so short a time and the process will continue unabated. To use my original analogy, the coffee must be grown in fertile soils and ground to perfection, then brewed for the taste to be the best.