South Africa: Gauteng shaky in firing debacle (11 March 1999)

11 March 1999

South Africa: Gauteng shaky in firing debacle

Trevor Chesterfield

JOHANNESBURG (South Africa) - One could be excused when on arriving at the Wanderers today to find that the security firm has been replaced by a posse of "security police" looking for spy bugs in the woodwork.

The bugs have nothing to do with the termites or the bare patches on the playing table at the Test venue but to see if what is taking place in secret corners of the dressing room as well as the board room is being leaked to a curious media.

Amid the latest gossip of who has been fired/resigned/asked to leave (tick the appropriate box), comes a new twist in the Gauteng Cricket Board's witch hunt to rid themselves of unwanted baggage. It is the comment that Andy Atkinson had become "fed up with being told how to do my job" by underlings whose only knowledge of pitch preparation consisted of bowling on them.

Atkinson, it as been reliably learnt, was on the verge of taking the second option when he was beaten to the draw by a nervous board who was quick on the trigger.

For tonight's match good old "Scottie" (Dirk Scott), who retired a couple of years ago, is back to prepare the pitch. But firing current staff and re-employing old staff on the whim of someone's grumbling over pitch preparation could also backfire on a square which has, in any case, become overused the last two of years.

Before SuperSport Centurion became SuperSport Centurion and the cellular service with the 082 digits were part of the system, Northerns obligingly played host in the winter of 1995 to a number of South African Academy games.

The result was that the surface, normally bouncy and with plenty of zip, was flat and dull; overused and tired. For that you cannot blame the groundsman. The surface for the opening Test of the 1995/96 series between South Africa and England was an example of administrative bungling.

There is a great deal of ignorance about grass growth in South Africa; regions differ: from coastal to inland there are differences. The problem is the poor local knowledge of those running the game. They fail to understand that in the summer rain-fall season the grass growth is from late October until about early to mid-March. Which makes inland pitch preparation for areas such at Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Centurion a serious problem from mid-March.

Hilbert Smit, groundsman in the Centurion/Pretoria area said that Test surfaces and one-day pitches so late in the season become a problem. To get growth you need a hot house effect and weather is not always kind; even late rains make it a problem to have the desired result.

But if you listen to those running admin, groundsmen know nothing until there's trouble, and that is when it is too late; mobile pitches are seen to be the answer.

While the Gauteng admin is falling over itself you can bet that Ken Rutherford, used to some styles of crisis management from his days as Kiwi captain, and his professional band of players are fit and mentally ready to tackle the Natal Dolphins. By their own admission Errol Stewart's side have had a disappointing season. They have lost Test players and players to the New Zealand team and the loss of Neil Johnson to Zimbabwe just about cleaned out what minimal experience there was.

Rumour has it that Craig Sugden wants to go home to Durbs by the Ocean and Andrew Hall is thinking of a contract with the Kingsmead-based team. Then the grape vine whispers suggests Vasbert Drakes is moving to Gauteng now that Rutherford has qualified as a local. If the Drakes rumour is true, what of the local talent? And how effective is the pool system going to be? It says a lot for muddled administrative planning. Gauteng (alias Transvaal) built their success on buying top players in the late 1970s and early 1980s from South Africa and the West Indies. It did little to encourage development of homebred stars. They could be repeating the same mistakes to their long-term detriment.

Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News