Cricket is not a whole new ball game for Mongezi Gerald Majola, who is the first black person to be CEO of the United Cricket Board. Cricket runs in the family: his father played the game and his late brother Khaya was the UCB’s director of amateur cricket.
Majola takes over from Dr Ali Bacher, who will now run the 2003 World Cup campaign. The challenges facing Majola are to improve provincial cricket financially and ensure the national team represents the demographics of the South African population.
Majola’s goal is to try and make cricket the number one sport in the country. For him development cricket is not only getting black people to play in the national team, but also seeing the under-13 to under-19 players playing one day for the South African national team.
He says Protea players like Jacques Kallis, Nicky Boje, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini and Justin Kemp have all developed from the 1996 under-19 team. Fast bowling sensation Mfuneko Ngam also comes from the development structures.
He hopes that the UCB’s 1999 ”transformation charter”, setting out the targets to be reached, will soon be accomplished and players will be selected on merit only.
His vision of cricket’s future will be announced after consulting all stakeholders, and he is is confident South Africa will win the world cup. ”We’ll walk it,” says Majola.
