Faul rules out full-time CSA role

On the eve of the meeting in which Cricket South Africa will restructure its board, the organisation has been dealt another blow. Acting chief executive Jacques Faul has confirmed he will not apply for the post full-time which means CSA will need to search for a new boss.

"I don't see myself doing the job permanently," Faul told ESPNcricinfo while sources close to him said the recent infighting was the last straw. Faul has been in the position as a stand-in since March last year after Gerald Majola was suspended and then dismissed. His tenure will only end when a replacement has been found.

Since Faul was appointed, CSA's board has had multiple speed bumps on the road to transition. The latest involves a feud with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) over the composition of the new structure. In accordance with the ministerial-convened Nicholson commission, CSA's new board must contain five independent directors, one of whom is the chairperson but SASCOC are opposed to an independent chair.

Tomorrow, CSA will decide how they will make up their new board and whether they will honour Nicholson or give in to SASCOC. They will also make a call on the acting president Willie Basson against whom allegations of Apartheid-era wrongdoing were made last week. Basson's initial threat of resignation and subsequent withdrawal has thrown the board into further turmoil which Faul has decided he can do without in the long-term.

The post of CEO has been advertised but the successful applicant can only be appointed after the new board is put in place. Faul was considered the frontrunner for the job because of the positive gains made by CSA in his time in office. The organisation went from losing major sponsors across all formats during the Majola debacle to regaining corporate backing to the tune of millions of Rands.

Although deals with Test-sponsor Sunfoil and ODI-backer Momentum were put in place before Faul took over, under him the former's agreement was extended and the latter's sewn up. Fast-food giant KFC have the naming rights to international and domestic T20 matches and Blue Label Telecoms back the T20 squad. Some of those agreements now also hang in the balance because they were conditional to board restructure.

Faul was previously the CEO of the North West Cricket Union and has had a long involvement in the game. He is completing a doctorate and may walk away from cricket altogether, although he has also been linked to the Titans job, who also have an acting CEO in operation after the sudden death of their boss Elise Lombard last August.

Former ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat has also expressed interest in the position but stipulated that he would only consider it if the corporate governance issues at CSA had been sorted out. Since leaving the ICC, Lorgat has worked as a consultant with Sri Lanka Cricket and is now doing work in Pakistan. Lorgat has worked with CSA before as convenor of selectors.