SA for football-style setup

Johannesburg, August 5 

South Africa Cricket is embracing a football-style setup as part of a radical overhaul in the wake of their World Cup debacle with chief coach Ottis Gibson making way for a team manager who will enjoy sweeping powers in the selection matters. This means Gibson will not be the coach for the team’s tour of India starting in September, when the former West Indies fast bowler’s contract also expires with the Proteas. “Members of the current team management, including the various assistant cricket coaches, will not be retained as part of the forthcoming plan,” Cricket South Africa (CSA) said.

The plan is to adopt a football-style management structure, where there will be a team manager, who will select his own coaching staff and captains in the three formats of the game. The big announcement comes in the wake of the team’s disastrous campaign in the ICC World Cup, where they failed to qualify for the knockouts after managing only three wins from nine outings.

The medical staff and administrative staff will also report to the manager, who in turn will report to the director of cricket, working under the chief executive. The team manager will report to CSA Acting Director of Cricket, Corrie van Zyl, who will in turn report to the Chief Executive. — Reuters