CSA likely to appoint Kirsten as coach

Gary Kirsten is expected to be named the new South Africa coach on Monday. The former India coach and South Africa opening batsman was interviewed for the position on May 16 and a CSA insider told ESPNcricinfo that he is the "leading candidate" for the job.

Kirsten returned to South Africa after India's successful World Cup campaign in April. India had offered him a new contract, but he declined, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. Kirsten was said to be headhunted by CSA after interim coach Corrie van Zyl decided to return to his post at the country's High Performance Centre at the completion of the same tournament. van Zyl was in the job for 14 months having taken over when Mickey Arthur resigned in January 2010.

It was initially thought that Kirsten's reluctance to travel, especially with the arrival of his third child in November this year, would be an obstacle to him being appointed South Africa coach, because CSA would have to compromise on too many terms and conditions. Reports were rife that Kirsten would assume an overall Director of Cricket position and have a number of assistant coaches to do the bulk of the legwork, which would include some travel and "minor" tours. It has since emerged that Kirsten may be willing to do more travel than was originally expected.

He will still have assistants, with former fast bowler Allan Donald and Warriors' coach Russell Domingo the two candidates likely to assume those roles. Donald, who spent 10 weeks as New Zealand's bowling coach during the Pakistan series and the World Cup, was on the verge of signing a new, two-year deal with them before opting out at the last minute.

On Thursday, Donald said that he was "just waiting for one or two more things" to be sorted out before jetting off to New Zealand. He was due to hold a bowling camp in the country next week, but changed his mind within 48 hours. On Saturday, when reports broke that he was going to be contracted as South Africa bowling coach, he said, "I've spoken to Gary this morning, but I can only comment on Monday."

Domingo also said he "can't comment before Monday" when contacted about reports linking him to the national team. He has been in charge of the Warriors for four seasons and won the MTN40 and Standard Bank Pro20 with them in the 2009-10 season, giving them their first pieces of silverware since the franchise system formed in 2003-4. Domingo's Warriors qualified for a second, successive Champions League this season and he has worked closely with core members of the national side such as Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Wayne Parnell, Ashwell Prince and Johan Botha. He was appointed South Africa A coach during the series against Bangladesh A in April.

CSA also interviewed former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus, who is now in charge at the Cobras. Pybus has a long involvement with South African cricket, having coached the Titans from 2005 to 2009, winning eight titles with them. He also was at the helm of the Cobras double title in the 2010-11 season, clinching both the SuperSport Series and the Pro20 competitions. Last week, Pybus told local media that he was "totally in the dark" about where the process was headed and had not been informed of any further developments since his interview.

The candidates were interviewed by a six-man panel that consisted of CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, outgoing coach Corrie van Zyl, cricket committee chair Andy O'Connor, players' association representative Boeta Dippenaar, convenor of selectors Andrew Hudson and Professor Johann Coetzee, a human development expert.