It is no secret that the South African cricket team is struggling to rise up on the charts. Their deplorable performance in 2019 tournaments have wiped the sheen off their glorious past.
If you recall the South African team finished seventh during the 10-team World Cup earlier this year. In the latest Test Series in India, they were miserably defeated by the host. They did not win even one test match.
At the moment, the 2019 Mzansi Super League (MSL) has created a lot of buzz in South Africa. The second edition of the tournament is underway this week.
But does it draw fans away from the real situation that is happening between the Cricket South Africa (CSA) and South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA)?
SACA had a dispute with CSA on the unpaid dues for the 2018 MSL. This led to the suspension of:
- Corrie van Zyl, interim director of cricket
- Naasei Appiah, chief operating officer
- Clive Eksteen, commercial manager
Mark Boucher, Tshwane Spartans’ head coach did not mince words about the state of affairs and the fanfare of MSL. He did not hold back about the problems with South African cricket.
As quoted in the SA Cricket Mag, he said, “I think there are bigger issues that need to be dealt with, to be honest. There might be quite a few people looking at this and saying we’re sugarcoating the actual situation we are in with South African cricket at the moment. We’ve got ourselves into a pretty bad state. Hopefully there are some clever heads there to try and turn things around”.
He goes on to claim the MSL should not be the focus and there are major issues that need urgent attention. “The tournament will be well supported as it was last year, but we’ve got to be very careful with putting too much emphasis on this tournament. There are bigger problems that need to be sorted out”.
He adds, “And they need to be sorted out very soon, for the good of cricket, our country and for the good of world cricket. There are guys around the world talking about the state we’re in, it’s not good. It’s sad to read, watch and listen about our cricket. There’s a lot of negativity”.
Keeping in mind the dire situation of South African cricket, we can for now follow the budding talent that will be playing in the MSL. You can catch all the MSL action on My11Circle – create your fantasy team and win real cash rewards.