The tragic fall of Pakistan’s 18-year-old Mohammed Amir into the bookmaker’s predatory hands has seen cricket reach bursting point with money-related issues, most of them bad-news stories.
Three weeks ago Cricket South Africa (CSA) administrators stood accused of helping themselves from the cookie jar without approval.
Last week, thankfully, there was a good-news story — the game’s 100-plus professionals in South Africa had their futures secured for the next four years and next week about a quarter of them can dream of life-changing riches when the Champions League begins.
The South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca) signed an agreement with the CSA and the six professional franchises, which guarantees that a 20% share of all the CSA’s revenue goes to the players.
“We become shareholders in the game as a whole this way, not just worried about runs and wickets, but about the image of the game and what direction it is taking,” said Boeta Dippenaar, the Saca president.
“If South African cricket is successful and profitable then we share in the proceeds. Hopefully players will be encouraged to take more responsibility for the big picture and become involved in the administration of the game.”
The “bad” money looming borrows from the American vernacular – bad as in seriously good. If a music rapper is bad, it means he is popular. That analogy tells us that the earning potential for the players in the Lions and Warriors squads who will compete in the Champions League from September 10 is very, very bad indeed.
The winner’s cheque for the 10 competing teams — three from the Indian Premier League (IPL), two from Australia, two from South Africa and one each from New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies — is $2,5-million. Appearance fees and other expenses, even after the franchise or state teams have taken the administrative share, means that each member of a 15-man squad will receive about R750 000 each — for 10 days’ work.
Unprecedented
It is an unprecedented scenario in a sport that has, for many decades, survived at domestic level on goodwill and “love of the game”, which has characterised the people at its heart.
The PR people in charge of this year’s tournament are being drawn to the big names like bluebottles to fresh manure and they spared no expense in flying a handful of the game’s superstars to Johannesburg to promote the event.
Fair enough. But Muttiah Muralitharan, Makhaya Ntini and Matthew Hayden are already millionaires, several times over.
The drama of the event lies not with them but with the juniors, whose lives could be changed forever in what amounts to the blink of an eye in cricketing terms. Young men like Jon Jon Smuts.
The Warriors all-rounder is among the most engaging of the country’s new brigade and speaking to him about the potential rewards on offer to young players these days is an exploration of joy and reality rather than bleached platitudes.
“I know about the money, I can’t pretend I don’t,” he said, chuckling. “If we won the tournament my life would never be the same again. But I can honestly say that’s not why I play the game and that’s not what motivates me. If I had R2-million in the bank right now, I would still be getting up for training every day with the same enthusiasm, because I love what I do. Maybe that will change, but I can’t imagine it.”
So what if Smuts was facing Murali in the last over of a semifinal, needing 10 runs to win, in the knowledge that the difference in prize money to him and his teammates was close to R600 000? Would he see Murali, or just another bowler? Would he see the money?
“I would see Murali. He’s a legend. We are always told that it’s a simple game between bat and ball, but you can’t take the personalities out of it. I wouldn’t think about the money, though. Not until afterwards. Then I would either celebrate like crazy and invest in a flat, or other property, or I would tear my hair out and wouldn’t speak to anybody for days, depending on whether we had won or lost. It’s not healthy to speculate about that kind of money. It’s much better to remind yourself of why you love the game and why you play it,” Smuts said.
He will turn 21 during the tournament, three years older than Amir, who is surely more victim than perpetrator for having allegedly agreed to bowl a deliberate no-ball during the Lord’s Test against England last week after the News of the World effected a “sting” in which they pretended to be corrupt bookmakers. He now faces a life ban, with his career in its infancy.
But let’s finish on a happier note.
“To play alongside Makhaya, Mark Boucher, Ashwell Prince, Johan Botha, Rusty Theron and Lopsy Tsotsobe for the Warriors is a dream come true. To play against guys like Mike Hussey, Hayden, Murali, Kallis — so many, that’s beyond a dream. As for the money, well, where’s beyond a dream?” Smuts said.