SA cricket must raise its game if it wants support from the next generation

In my youth, before I became obsessed with athletics, all my focus as a sports fan was directed towards cricket.

There’s a reason for this. Proteas fast bowler Fanie de Villiers married into our family and I started watching games as a kid because he was playing.

At one point, there were collectors’ books released with coins representing all the players in the national squad. I collected them all and it became my most prized possession. I remember crying when I lost the Andrew Hudson coin.

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As I got older, my love for the sport slowly faded and my attention as a sports fan was directed elsewhere, but because it was the first sport I enjoyed watching, I’ve always had a soft spot for cricket.

And when I first joined The Citizen’s staff earlier in my career, with the athletics beat already taken, I was more than happy to secure the role of cricket writer.

For a few years, I travelled around the country touring with the national team, watched more matches than I can recall and spent countless hours at the nets, chatting to colleagues during Proteas training sessions.

Poor state

So as much as I’m not the world’s biggest cricket fan, and my interest in athletics has absorbed almost all my attention in recent years, it’s probably still my second favourite sport.

It is, therefore, extremely disconcerting that the sport looks to be in such a poor state. From the struggling domestic game to the performances of the national team, cricket has become persistently disappointing.

It’s not just the most recent performances of the Proteas which will have fans shaking their heads. Their failure to win a World Cup is perhaps the biggest blemish in the annals of South African sport.

As someone who received so much joy from watching the SA team holding their own against the best sides in the world, it is sad that the inconsistency and lack of big match temperament has overshadowed the results achieved when the players do hit their straps.

For any sport to succeed in terms of attracting attention from the public, consistency and BMT are crucial.

There are kids all over the country who would be keen to watch cricket, but the next generation is being chased away. And until they raise the standard at all levels of the game, fewer and fewer young South Africans are going to become passionate about the sport.

That’s even sadder than losing an Andrew Hudson coin.