Open letter to Arthur Turner

2008-07-10 08:14

Arthur Turner wrote a column for Sport24 on June 17 entitled "Hansie deserves closure". Click here to read the column.

Tim Noakes responds...

Dear Arthur,

Just to let you know that I did read the column you wrote for Sport24. In my opinion what you wrote is defamatory. After speaking to a number of people, my wife especially, I decided not to take the matter further with a lawyer because I think most reasonable people will realise that what you wrote reveals much more about your personal failings than about mine. You have made this point very effectively; you do not need any legal assistance to confirm it.

However there are a couple of points that you should know. First, you do not know me. I think you have greeted me at the Newlands cricket ground on about two occasions. Thus your opinion of me is entirely based on hearsay. This would be easy to prove in court.

Second, your letter indicates that you did not even view the BBC documentary. Thus you do not know if I also praised the late Mr Cronje in the documentary. You were very unwise to make such disparaging comments about me without even viewing the BBC programme. In addition, the only comment I made in the documentary that made it into the print media was that Mr Cronje was a "masterful manipulator". As I recall this was the one clear finding of the King Commission. Thus I was only repeating what is common knowledge.

Third, I do not take every opportunity to attack the late Mr Cronje. The last time I spoke about Mr Cronje was at Bob Woolmer's memorial service. In my speech I said that Bob had helped Mr Cronje to be "the best captain he could be". At the time of Bob Woolmer's death my opinions about Mr Cronje were sensationalized by You magazine. The writer of that article will confirm that I tried to stop the magazine publishing what eventually appeared. While I agreed with its content, I did not wish it to be written in the way it was. Unfortunately my pleas could not remove everything I found offensive.

Fourth, your facts about my involvement with South African cricket are incomplete. I served as the chairperson of the (inaugural) United Cricket Board (UCB) Medical Committee from 1996 until 2000 and was one of the three main organisers of the very successful Second World Conference on Science and Medicine in Cricket held in Cape Town at the time of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. This event was supported by the UCB and the International Cricket Board. For none of these activities did I receive any compensation for my time and effort. I performed these tasks, including serving with the Proteas team in the 1996 Cricket World Cup in Asia, in the hope that my contributions would help South African cricket become the best in the world.

If your opinion is more widely shared by other cricket administrators in South Africa, then clearly my efforts were wasted. I do note however that when Bob Woolmer and I were the most actively involved with the national team between 1996 and the end of 1997 (whereafter both our influences became progressively less), the Proteas had a superior one- and five-day Test record than did Australia. Since that time the Australians have achieved a position of total dominance of five-day Test cricket and only for a brief time have the Proteas enjoyed a superior one-day record than the Australians.

But the point is that perhaps you should have more honest about the extent of my involvement with SA cricket. And perhaps the reasons why that involvement was finally terminated.

Fifth, I was the person who suggested in 1996 to Bob Woolmer that he should write his coaching book. Without my inspiration and support including financial help to employ an editor to work with both Bob and myself, the book would likely not ever have happened. This book, Bob Woolmer's Art and Science of Cricket, to be released next month is by far the most complete cricket coaching book ever written anywhere in the world and a fitting tribute to the genius that was Bob Woolmer. Neither Bob Woolmer (especially) nor I was ever allowed to make the contribution to South African cricket that (this book proves) we might have. My hope is that his book will advance South African cricket in the future in ways that Bob Woolmer was actively prevented from doing during his life.

Sixth, my stand against Mr Cronje has nothing to do with opportunism and everything to do with principle. If I was opportunistic I would follow the popular opinion and join all those in the praise of the late Mr Cronje. That would be easy and would spare me the ire of many including apparently the UCB. But I cannot do that and be true to myself. I observed a side of Mr Cronje that was either hidden from most South Africans including yourself or else it is a side that few South Africans seem prepared to acknowledge. (To my knowledge the rest of the cricketing world sees Mr Cronje rather more plainly - for both his strengths and weaknesses). But it is always easier to ignore that which is painful. I could say much more on this topic but over the years I have learned that sometimes it is wiser to keep your own council. Especially when it comes to matters touching on the dark side of world cricket.

Seventh, the outstanding problem with your letter, besides its defamatory nature, is that you have fallen for the common trap of blaming the messenger because you don't like the message. This is always the easier option. But one inescapable reality, as acknowledged in the BBC documentary even by those who were some of Mr Cronje's most ardent supporters, is that the South African public's enthusiasm for cricket was severely damaged by the allegations against Mr Cronje. Perhaps the parlous financial state of some of the South African cricketing provinces (of which you probably have personal knowledge since you ran Western Province cricket for a time) can be linked to Mr Cronje's actions. The point is that strong leadership appropriately applied after the end of the 1999 Cricket World Cup, in which Mr Cronje's performances were not of the required standard, would have prevented what subsequently happened. Firm leadership would have saved South African cricket from its subsequent shame.

Unfortunately placing the blame on me cannot reverse the avoidable tragedy that befell South African cricket as a result of that failure.

Should you ever wish to discuss these views in person with me please don't hesitate to contact me. You know where I work.

I wish you well in your new career wherever it may take you,

Sincerely,

Tim Noakes

Professor Tim Noakes is the co-founder of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa based in Cape Town.

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