Cape Town - There has been no resolution found in the dispute between some Cape Cobras players and the board, but Western Cape Cricket (WCC) chairman Beresford Williams urged the players to “go and play cricket to the best of their ability”.
The SA Cricketers’ Association said in a statement on Thursday that the group of Cobras players who lodged a grievance against coach Paul Adams have not had their dispute with the WCC board sorted out following a CCMA process.
After a conciliation meeting on October 18, the parties agreed to extend the time to resolve the matter by 14 days, but the dispute remains. Saca chief executive Tony Irish said on Thursday that the “very last resort” now was industrial action, such as a strike, once a certificate of outcome from the CCMA is received declaring that the dispute was not resolved, which would enable the players to embark on lawful and protected industrial action.
But Irish added that Saca “hope it doesn’t come to that” and that they will approach Cricket South Africa for “assistance and intervention before considering what further steps to take”.
Irish said that Saca had made a proposal that could’ve solved the matter. “We had proposed a process for an independent cricket person to monitor and assess the coach’s situation on the ground within the team over a three-week period, and thereafter to make a recommendation as to what should happen with the coaching situation. His recommendation would be accepted by all, and binding on the players, Saca and the franchise, and it would dispose of the current dispute,” said Irish.
“The franchise has however rejected the proposal out of hand without proposing any alternative, despite having indicated to us that they were in favour of some form of monitoring. The most frustrating aspect is that it appears that the board of the franchise simply refuses to acknowledge that there is actually a problem at all, despite everything that has happened, and is now happening, around it.”
But Williams told Independent Media on Thursday that the WCC board had implemented one of the proposals suggested by a report produced by independent consultant Paddy Upton, who was brought in to facilitate mediation and speak to all the role players involved.
“We as the Cape Cobras board tried to reconcile and resolve the matter, and clearly the demand from the players through Saca, to have the coach removed, is unfair and unlawful. As an organisation, we will respect and honour due process,” Williams said.
“I mean, it is unthinkable where one employee can fire another employee. That’s unfair and unlawful, and the CCMA has made their views known on that. In terms of the board, it is empowered to hire and fire, not the employees. And the board has followed due process. We have considered a number of options in terms of the Paddy Upton report, and we took scenario two - which was that we retain the coach, with reinforcements.
“Paul has been very amenable to building a relationship that works for all parties. Paul acknowledges that he’s got areas that he needs to work on. We then as a board put in a structure to support him, because last season he worked on his own in a very difficult environment.
“We then appointed Ashwell Prince as the assistant coach - a top international great, a man with vast experience to bolster the team. For the past few months, they have been working well with the team. They had their hard discussions and interactions, and that’s where it is at the moment.
“And how do you monitor somebody in the middle of a game, or the middle of the season? You must remember that the convenor of selectors, as well as the outgoing convenor (Alan Dawson), the assistant coach, physio, doctor and fitness coach said that it is not practical to have another person sitting in our team talks and strategy preparations, and then only talking to the seven aggrieved players.
“How does it work? We have 18 players, and then he only talks to the seven aggrieved players… It’s not logical.”
What has fuelled the situation further is the lack of victories this season, with the Cobras losing three and drawing one in the Sunfoil Series, while newly appointed selection convenor Alan Dawson resigned this week after a few months in the post, stating: “I feel it is the right decision in terms of the situation and the circumstances at present. I feel at this stage as a convenor, I cannot make any difference to the performance of the team.”
Williams agrees that the defeats “are a big issue and we are disappointed”, but feels that the show must go on, even if some players do decide to strike.
“Well, the game will have to carry on. We’ll have to pick the next best team. Our core business is cricket. We have a great bunch of players and loads of talent. We are saying that they must go and play cricket, to the best of their ability, and we are committed to making changes in the best interests of the game and the Cobras,” he said.
“As you can see, we have a new team in the field today (against the Dolphins in Paarl). Unfortunately the captain (Omphile Ramela) is suspended, and Andrew Puttick is on compassionate leave, and we picked a group of young players.
“We are also looking forward to the new format of the T20s next week, and we want to go out there with a fresh look and some new players. (Kieran) Pollard is arriving next week, and we will have a look at our group of players who can do the business in T20 cricket.”
@ashfakmohamed
Independent Media