Former players union CEO to respond to allegations at cricket inquiry

Former SA Cricketers Association (Saca) CEO Tony Irish will get an opportunity to present the union’s side of the story and respond to allegations against it at Cricket SA’s Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) project.

Saca has been accused by former players‚ administrators and Cricket SA board members of being an obstacle to transformation when it came to the selection of black players to the Proteas.

“I know the CEO of Saca is preparing representation and submissions to the hearings and I will probably have an opportunity to read those when they are ready‚ and if I need to support those I will‚” said Irish.

“Whenever they want me to come‚ I will absolutely co-operate with them. I know  Saca has come under attack in some of these hearings and I think some of it is unfair and unjustified‚ and I will be supporting Saca’s submissions in response to that.”

Irish‚ who was instrumental in establishing Saca in 2002 and led it for 17 years before he stepped down in December 2019 for a similar role with the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) in England‚ said some of the things said about the organisation were upsetting.

“I haven’t been following the hearings closely but a lot of it has been upsetting, actually. There are a lot of allegations that have been made and are just not true. I am not directly involved in SA cricket at the moment even though I am still on the board of the international players’ association.

Cricket SA’s SJN project is chaired by ombudsman  Dumisa Ntsebeza‚ and was established to investigate racial discrimination within the organisation and recommend remedial action.