'Kallis means nothing to me'

2002-10-31 22:32

Barnie Louw

Cape Town - If it were not for the Cricket World Cup next year he would have dissolved the cricketing structures in South Africa. Apart from that, players like Jacques Kallis means nothing to him and he only went to watch cricket to see black players perform.

These were some of the remarks made by minister of sport, Ncgonde Balfour, during two meetings with the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) and other cricketing role players.

The minutes of the meetings were released on Thursday and contain details of a threatening rift between the ministry of sport and the UCBSA about quotas as well as of a seeming power struggle between Balfour and the UCBSA president Percy Sonn.

The minutes were apparently released to counter the report of the ministerial task force that investigated cricket, which Balfour released later on Thursday. Balfour ordered the investigation after the UCBSA unilaterally decided to cancel quotas at the senior level.

Balfour said on Thursday that he did not want to comment before he did not see the minutes and he added that he was not aware that minutes were taken at his meetings with the UCBSA.

According to the UCBSA minutes of the first meeting the following transpired:

Balfour was upset that he had to learn in the media of the UCBSA decision to cancel quotas. Then Balfour indicated that the government supported the UCBSA in wanting to take pressure off cricket, but that the UCBSA moved with hostile forces in the country to denigrate the government.

"I'm disappointed with both of you (Sonn and the UCBSA chief executive Gerald Majola). Percy you treat the ANC and MEC's flippantly. Gerald, you are not carrying out the vision of your brother. I don't want to hear your excuses, I don't give a shit," Balfour said.

Concerning black players not wanting to feel like quota players Balfour said: "You say black players don't want to feel like quota players. Tough shit. It is the media that calls them that. It is for more players than them. If they can't stand it they must get out. I don't care a shit about that. They must take the pressure like we had to in the struggle."

The Minister said that he did not go to Newlands to watch players like Mark Boucher and Kallis. He went to watch Paul Adams and Makhaya Ntini. "Who is Jacques Kallis? Jacques Kallis means nothing to me," he said, adding that black people wanted black people on the field.

Sonn said that the UCBSA would commit to aiming for a target of five black players in the world cup squad, but that it was not possible to commit to five black players in the team that takes the field.

Malusie Gigaba, the president of the ANC Youth League said: "It is clear that cricket is not committed to transformation. Either the South African team is representative or it doesn't take the field. We will pull out all the stops".

"If it was not the World Cup next year, I would disband cricket. Percy (Sonn), you are on thin ice," Balfour then added.

During the second meeting, the mutual distrust between Balfour and the UCBSA was underlined again.

- Die Burger