da leao： The United Cricket Board held a very productive meeting today with formerplayers, administrators and current players to evaluate the state of cricketin South Africa
da jogodeouro： Media Release23-Apr-2002The United Cricket Board held a very productive meeting today with formerplayers, administrators and current players to evaluate the state of cricketin South Africa. Key issues on the agenda related to the management of thenational team, coaching, team leadership, discipline and the question oftransformation.Discussions also ranged around the performance of thenational side against Australia in the recent series to matters of selectionand planning for World Cup 2003.UCB CEO Gerald Majola, who convened the meeting, told delegates that the aimof the exercise was to “allow for introspection and to begin a process thatwould enable the UCB to prepare adequately administratively and on the fieldfor the World Cup”.”We want a plan in place to win the World Cup and to set up a process thatwould take cricket beyond the tournament. We want to make South Africa thenumber one side in the world,” Mr Majola added.Mr Majola stressed that the views that the participants had expressed on awide range of issues affecting South African cricket would inform the UCB inits strategy for the tournament.The meeting was split into two sessions, with the first group made up offormer players – including Pat Symcox, Peter Kirsten, Omar Henry, CraigMatthews, Hugh Page, Eric Simons, Andrew Hudson and Fanie de Villiers.Alsoat the morning session were the former Managing Director of the UCB, Dr AliBacher, and some provincial coaches.The afternoon session consisted ofcurrent players, Shaun Pollock, Jonty Rhodes, Gary Kirsten, Makhaya Ntini,Steve Elworthy, Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher. The national teammanagement and selectors also took part in the afternoon workshop.Both sessions were characterised by a healthy exchange of ideas in apositive and constructive atmosphere.The workshop decided to ask the UCB General Council to consider theestablishment of a National Cricket Committee to assist the UCB to plan andstrategize cricket issues for the World Cup.The composition of thecommittee will be determined by the UCB General Council. Its primaryfunction will be to provide advice on the management of the national teamand to develop a cricketing strategy for the team – with a primary focus onthe 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup. Mr Majola will table the matter at the nextCouncil meeting on Saturday.Commenting on the meeting, Mr Majola said: “It’s no easy task to get afocussed set of proposals from such a wide ranging group of individuals. Butwe are united in our desire to ensure the World Cup is ours and all thosepresent agreed to do whatever necessary to make that happen. We recognisethe importance of rallying the nation behind the national team and hope thatwe can move forward in unity from now on.”Mr Majola added his thanks to everyone who participated in the sessions. “Iwas impressed by the openness, the preparedness and the effort whicheveryone put in, as well as the fact that they gave so much of theirvaluable time to South African cricket.”In tribute to Walter Masimula, the Gauteng cricketer who passed away inEngland last week, there was a minute’s silence at the meeting.Media Contact:Bronwyn WilkinsonCommunications Director
