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| |  Tuesday, 9 April, 2002, 16:35 GMT 17:35 UK SA consider new strategy Pollock has experinced the down side of captaincy The United Cricket Board of South Africa has called a meeting of top players and administrators, past and present, to discuss the decline of the national team in recent months. They lost five of the six Tests against Australia and have been comprehensively outplayed by Ricky Ponting's side in the home one-day series. The only respite came when they beat New Zealand in the VB Series final in Australia. More than 30 people are likely to attend the cricket 'think-tank' in Johannesburg on 23 April.
National captain Shaun Pollock leaves to join English county side Warwickshire four days before the meeting but will be submitting a written report for discussion. "We feel that there are many issues that need to be looked at in a constructive fashion and we want to ensure that we make use of all the cricketing expertise we possibly can. "The meeting will be a proactive means for the UCB to look frankly at the international season just past and devise a strategy that we can go forward with," said chief executive Gerald Majola. Of primary concern is the need to revive the team's one-day fortunes prior to the 2003 World Cup, which South Africa is hosting. "We realize there is a need to act quickly and to get this process moving forward to ensure that our most precious asset - our national team - is competitive, fit and strong," added Majola.
Among those invited are: ex-UCB chief Dr Ali Bacher, how head of the World Cup organising committee, and former Test stars Graeme Pollock, Allan Donald, Peter Kirsten and Kepler Wessels. Current players asked to attend include Gary Kirsten, Makhaya Ntini Ashwell Prince and Jonty Rhodes, together with coaches Graham Ford and Corrie van Zyl and physio Craig Smith. One notable absentee from the list is Hansie Cronje, who was stripped of the captaincy in April 2000 and later banned for life after admitting receiving money from bookmakers in return for providing match information. A new United Cricket Board constitution will, meanwhile, be adopted at a separate meeting on 27 April. It will see the administration of the game in the Republic split into two, covering the professional and amateur cricket. The 11 regional affiliates of the Board have been asked to nominate directors for the committee which will run the professional game. | |
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