Bye bye Russell Domingo?

Russell Domingo has no guarantee of staying on as Proteas coach beyond the tour of England in mid-year.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday announced they had “commenced the recruitment process for the appointment of the Proteas head coach to take charge after the tour to the UK until the 2019 edition World Cup”.

That would suggest that either Domingo isn’t willing to continue or the local governing body is keen to bring in a fresh candidate.

Also read: We always see to fill the Kolpak gap, says AB de Villiers

Asked to elaborate, CSA simply reiterated “the process to appoint/confirm a coach post the England tour has begun”.

A spokesman did confirm though that Domingo wasn’t out of the picture.

“His contract expires at the end of the tour. He can re-apply for his position,” he said.

The 42-year-old mentor has been credited for much of South Africa’s turnaround since last season’s disastrous results, where they lost Test series to India and England as well as being eliminated early from the ICC World T20.

He and senior team management decided to invest in a three-day culture camp in August last year and the shift in attitude has been clear.

The Proteas are playing winning cricket again and various team members have spoken about the easy-going mood in the camp.

Even the disruption of Kyle Abbott’s Kolpak-related departure earlier this month didn’t derail the side.

Domingo has been in charge of the side since mid-2013.

Also read: More Kolpak woes for SA cricket as Dane Vilas says ‘Cheers’

CSA also announced that the six-team franchise system will remain in place but that senior provincial cricket – the level below francise cricket – will be restructured.

The federation wants to focus on quality coaching as well as a player performance plan.

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