ANI
01 Aug 2020, 20:25 GMT+10
Cape Town [South Africa], Aug 1 (ANI): Graeme Smith, Cricket South Africa's (CSA) director of cricket, on Saturday reiterated his commitment to the board.
Smith was appointed as the CSA's director of cricket in April this year.
"If you look at some of the things which are being said around appointments, my appointment, and the appointment of my staff, I think some of those things are extremely unfair. It was good to see the President (Chris Nenzani) put that straight with his most recent comments. But I have to come back to my value system and why I got involved in this job," Smith said in an official release issued by CSA.
"Cricket South Africa courted me for a while, I went through the same interview process as everybody else in getting the job. I got involved because I have got cricket at heart and to be part of the solution. I want to help create a strong Cricket South Africa," he added.
Apart from Smith himself, there has been severe speculation over Mark Boucher's position as the head coach of the men's team. "I think the narrative is really unfair. I was appointed by a really vigorous process and didn't go and appoint myself. I've made it clear why I got involved. I made a number of appointments in December, not only Mark Boucher. I brought in the permanent staff like the team manager Volvo (Masubelele), Justin Ontong, Charl Langeveldt, Enoch Nkwe, and the medical staff," Smith said.
"The appointment of Paul Harris was around Keshav Maharaj requesting to work with him for one series. Jacques Kallis hasn't been on the payroll of Cricket South Africa for many months, he worked on an interim basis and it is important to clarify that those appointments were not permanent," he added.
Smith also shared his thoughts on the recently approved Cricket for Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) Concept proposed by the CSA Transformation Committee and approved by the board, which stemmed from the discussions generated by the global Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Pacer Lungi Ngidi had taken the lead on the BLM campaign, with subsequent events triggering many allegations of racial discrimination in cricket from former players such as Makhaya Ntini.
"I fully support the Social Justice programme. I think the initial thing is to listen internally within the current Proteas set-up and, in the build-up to the Solidarity Cup, that's exactly what happened," Smith said. "What surprised me the most is that there were players in the past that never felt they had a voice or could feel comfortable enough to communicate. Part of my role and that of my department's role is we're going to have a very big influence on how things move forward," he concluded. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Zimbabwe Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Zimbabwe Star.
More InformationMADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. President...
Buenos Aires [Argentina], July 6 (ANI): After concluding his visit to Argentina on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed...
Abu Dhabi [UAE], July 5 (ANI/WAM): President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to President...
Birmingham [UK], July 5 (ANI): KL Rahul continued his fine overseas run in Test cricket, becoming only the second Indian opener after...
* China's first LEGOLAND resort opened on Saturday in Shanghai. * Spanning 318,000 square meters, LEGOLAND Shanghai Resort is the...
Worcester [UK], July 5 (ANI): India's 14-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi cracked the fastest century in the U19 ODI...
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 5 (ANI): Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson made a record-breaking return to the Kerala...