Peter Robinson Not so much a case of peace breaking out, perhaps, as cricket settling into an uneasy truce, but it would be churlish to deny that the United Cricket Board (UCB) moved with unusual speed this week to try and heal the mostly self-inflicted wounds that have opened since January 2. Clive Rice and Minister of Sport and Recreation Ngconde Balfour are still sniping at each other, but this has been something of a sideshow with both simply behaving in character. More significantly, perhaps, was the olive branch offered to those former players accused, from one quarter or another, of still living in the apartheid era. The matter of Graeme Pollock has been left in abeyance until a UCB council meeting on January 19. Pollock has been fingered as the man who let the cat out of the bag about the ill-fated selection meeting before the Sydney Test and could be censured by the UCB for breaching confidentiality. It has emerged that Pollock was not the only one to talk out of school. Whatever the case, the UCB would be most unwise to try and heave Pollock out of cricket. In the broader cricketing world, Pollock’s views carry more weight that those of all at the UCB lumped together. He is a huge name in cricket and can do far more good inside the South African game than outside it. One of the better suggestions to be offered this week is the appointment of a sort of cricket committee comprised of coaches, selectors and former players to keep the UCB in far closer touch with those playing the game. Another good idea is the formation of a players’ association that would look after the broader interests of the people on the field. Political posturing a load of balls, page 13