Cape Town: South Africa’s Sports Ministry has given a nod to Cricket South Africa (CSA) to go ahead with the upcoming white-ball series against England later this month.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, the series between England and South Africa will be played for the sake of the players and the cricket-loving public.
There has been turmoil in Cricket South Africa for a long time now over administrative issues and Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa is closer to intervening in the matters of the board.
There is a strong chance of Mthethwa using the National Sports and Recreation Act to step in at CSA (which could include withdrawing funding and stripping them of their status as a nationally representative body) if the members’ council does not recognise the interim board, ESPNCricinfo reported.
England are due to travel to South Africa later today and upon reaching South Africa, the side will begin a 10-day quarantine. All matches will be played in a bio-secure environment in the Western Cape, with fixtures at both Newlands and Boland Park.
The series is slated to start on November 27 and it will be the first series in South Africa since the country went into lockdown in March. This will also be the first series that the South African men’s team have had for more than seven months.
South Africa are also due to host Sri Lanka, Australia, and Pakistan in the 2020-21 season, and these fixtures may be under threat if the members’ council does not comply with the Sports Minister.
Earlier, South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) had asked for the CSA board and executive to step aside while SASCOC conducted an inquiry into CSA’s affairs.