THE CORNER FLAG: Save the ECU from internal politics

Of all the fields inside Willowmoore Park, perhaps the most entertaining is the F field behind the main pavilion.

It’s not the condition of the pitch or layout of the outfield that’s attractive but the sight of youngsters – the future of the Eastern Cricket Union (ECU) – fully engaged in a sport they love.

On Saturday, I was mesmerised by palpable shouts of ‘howzat’ and ‘catch it’, but it was the ovation some players received for a good knock and brilliant bowling spells that reminded me of the beauty of the game of cricket.

Their colour, background and skill level didn’t matter. What mattered was the game, devoid of politics or parental involvement.

The youngsters showed love for each other and will most likely make it through the ranks irrespective of colour, status or creed. Theirs is to play a sport they love and, hopefully, take it further as they develop.

But they are oblivious to the politics within the ECU. While they find strength in their differences and use the game to display unity, the custodians of the game in our region seek to divide them.

I was appalled to learn about interest groups serving different racial groups on the board of the ECU after the election of new board members last month.

There are white, coloured, Indian and black African interest groups with representatives on the board, apparently serving their own interests.

What are these interests? Shouldn’t all these board members be striving for the betterment of the ECU? Why is a person without the union’s full interests at heart allowed to serve on its board?

If this is standard practice in the cricket community around the country, it is disgusting.

Such divisions have done us no good. Our senior teams are struggling on the field. We have no naming rights sponsor, and a walk around Willowmoore Park reminds one that the union is run on a shoestring budget because it’s been unable to attract any lucrative sponsorship due to years of administrative issues and boardroom in-fighting.

Politics has always engulfed professional sports in SA because of our past. However, it’s a past we should learn from rather than resurrect.

This is because the victims are the thousands of aspiring cricketers, like the youngsters I watched on the F field or those in mini-cricket, whose dreams wayward board members or officials guided by self-interests dash.

For as long as race rules our cricket, Etwatwa, Tsakane and Vosloorus fans will never get to watch their teams at home because of a lack of playing facilities. And Nadine Wells and her Geluksdal teammates will never get to turn up to a match fully kitted because the people tasked with taking the game forward serve their own interests.

The only way for our union to grow is when we decide to address our issues openly without hiding behind our skin colour.

The ECU appointed an astute CEO in Wesley Coulentianos last year.

To succeed at his job, he needs the board’s full support. How will he achieve his goals with a fragmented board?

Kill the politics and focus on cricket.

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