New Delhi:
South Africa endured a disastrous ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, finishing in the seventh position and winning just three out of nine games. The wins came against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Australia but South Africa were found wanting yet again in a major ICC tournament. Following the disappointment of the World Cup, Cricket South Africa have made radical changes to the cricketing team when it comes to the coaching format. Inspired by football and most notably the European Premier Leagues, Cricket South Africa has proposed a structure which will give them hope to pursue their maiden World Cup title. The major change was that Ottis Gibson, the coach during the World Cup, has not been given an extension.
Gibson took over as South Africa's head coach in 2017 on a two-year contract. Under his guidance, the team enjoyed success in home Test series' against India, Australia and Pakistan. He also oversaw away ODI series wins in Sri Lanka and Australia. A loss in Test series at home and away to Sri Lanka preceded their disappointing World Cup campaign in the United Kingdom.
In a press release, Cricket South Africa outlined the structure which 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 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. The structure will resemble the ones in top European football clubs where a technical director heads the coaching staff and players.
CSA Chief Executive Thabang Moroe spoke about the structure, "This change will herald an exciting new era for the SA cricket and will bring us into line with best practice in professional sport. I must stress that the new structure was not a rash decision. It was taken after much deliberation by the Board, taking all the factors into consideration about the current state of our cricket and also the plan that we need to get to within the timelines we have set."
South Africa's first series will be against India where the play three Twenty20 Internationals and three Tests starting from September 15.
