Yacoob: CSA’s leaders have been ‘uncooperative, difficult, unresponsive and arrogant’

The head of Cricket South Africa’s rejected interim board says they will not be bullied, insisting they will continue to proceed with their mandate, despite being shoved aside by the federation’s members council.

“The most neutral way of putting it is that we are still a proposed interim board,” the committee chairperson, Judge Zak Yacoob, said in a virtual media conference on Friday.

“But nobody will dictate our actions under any circumstances, and we will continue our work, as difficult as it is for us.”

While CSA was in danger of being sanctioned by the International Cricket Council if government interfered in the embattled federation’s affairs, its members council announced on Thursday that it would not accept the make-up of the independent interim board appointed by sports minister Nathi Mthethwa, due to the inclusion of former CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

Though the federation did not yet accept the interim board – leaving the organisation in the hands of its own depleted board and members council – Yacoob did not believe it was possible for CSA to stabilise itself without intervention.

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“Following everything that has happened over the last few weeks, absent of a miracle, we do not believe CSA will be able to self-correct,” he said.

Since being appointed by Mthethwa a couple of weeks ago, Yacoob said their dealings with the cricket body’s executive had been challenging, claiming CSA’s leaders had been “uncooperative, difficult, unresponsive and arrogant”.

He admitted the interim board had taken a strong-handed approach in an attempt to get to the bottom of long-running conflict and maladministration which threatened to bring the federation to its knees.

Yacoob, however, believed key issues needed to be urgently addressed.

“England arrive on Monday (for a tour against the Proteas) and it would be a shame if the players did not do well because of the nonsense that is going on elsewhere in the sport,” he said.

“We need to make sure that those who are working hard for the benefit of cricket on a daily basis are able to rise above those who are tarnishing the game.”

While they waited for approval from the CSA members council, Yacoob insisted the delay would not sideline the proposed interim board.

“There is a lot we can do (in the meantime) to create a good climate for cricket,” he said.

“We can liaise with other organisations and put pressure on the members council to recognise us, and we will absolutely keep putting pressure on them at every level to ensure they cooperate with us.”

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