A battle over the future balance of power within Cricket South Africa (CSA) is developing behind the scenes, with provincial leaders seeking greater representation on the organisation’s board but any potential overhaul set to remain off the immediate agenda ahead of the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, presidents from among CSA’s 15 provincial affiliates are pushing for changes to the board’s composition. The current structure comprises eight independent and five non-independent directors, with the Chair required to be independent. Some provincial leaders want to narrow that numerical gap, while others favour a majority drawn from their own ranks.
The debate could ultimately test a governance model established following years of administrative turmoil at CSA. It also comes as much of the provincial system remains financially dependent on the national body and the SA20 occupies an increasingly important position in South Africa’s professional cricket landscape.
Provincial leaders seek greater influence
The push reflects tensions over how much authority provincial administrators retain within the modern structure of South African cricket. An insider with first-hand knowledge of the situation told Cricbuzz: “Because they’ve lost control and they don’t like it. They’re not even part of the SA20, which is uber successful. [Two of] their provinces have been put under administration. They’ve become irrelevant, and they can’t handle that. They believe by getting power back they’ll become relevant.But the reality is they will kill the game.”
Outgoing Gauteng President Earl Glennistor, who sits on CSA’s board through the Members’ Council, told Cricbuzz he was “not pushing” for the previous governance structure to return. The discussion itself predates the latest developments, with Glennistor adding: “When I got to the members council [in May 2020] it was there already.”
The question facing CSA extends beyond the numerical balance between the two groups to the effectiveness of those entrusted with governing the organisation. Glennistor said: “I’m torn [between a majority of independent or non-independent directors]. If we look at other federations in our country, like rugby and soccer, one is very good and one is very bad. But both of them are controlled by non-independent directors. So it really depends on who’s on the board.”
Financial pressures deepen the provincial divide
Financial conditions across the provincial network form an important part of the wider struggle for influence. Cricbuzz’s reporting identifies Northerns, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal — whose teams are the Titans, Lions and Dolphins — as the only three of CSA’s 15 provincial affiliates on firm financial footing, with the other 12 reliant on CSA support. That group includes provinces whose teams are based at major venues such as Newlands and St George’s Park.
From the provincial perspective, greater representation would give affiliates a stronger voice in decisions affecting the game beneath international level. One provincial president said: “A strong CSA means strong affiliates. Strong affiliates means strong clubs. It filters all the way down.Cricket in this country is not made up of the people in the Proteas. It’s made up of every single person who supports the Proteas.”
Provincial administrators have also raised concerns about the weight carried by independent directors and the amount of attention devoted to CSA’s financial position relative to expenditure on cricket. The counterargument within the administration is that maintaining the financial health of the organisation is fundamental to sustaining the wider cricket structure.
SA20 reshapes cricket’s traditional power structure
The expansion of the SA20’s role in South African cricket has altered both the commercial landscape and the pathways available to elite players, adding another dimension to the provinces’ declining institutional influence.
One insider said: “The world game has changed dramatically. So much so that the South Africa under-19 team is a better platform for finding Proteas players than provincial cricket; certainly in division two and maybe even in division one. You have to play in the SA20 to be able to play white-ball cricket for South Africa.”
That assessment places the dispute within a cricket economy that has changed substantially over the past five to 10 years. The traditional provincial structure no longer carries the same commercial weight, with provincial cricket increasingly serving a developmental function while the SA20 has assumed greater importance in the professional white-ball pathway.
The governance model has also changed how CSA can respond to difficulties within individual affiliates. Border and Northern Cape have been placed under administration. The insider’s assessment was that an independent-majority board is better positioned to make such interventions because provincial representatives under the previous model could have been reluctant to take action against another affiliate when their own province might later face similar scrutiny.
Independent governance emerged from previous crises
CSA operated without independent board directors until February 2013, when five independents joined five provincial presidents.
The reform followed controversy surrounding improperly declared bonuses equivalent to US$555,000 paid to CSA by the IPL in recognition of South Africa stepping in at short notice to host the 2009 tournament. Further governance turmoil during the tenures of former CSA President Chris Nenzani and former Chief Executive Officer Thabang Moroe preceded another restructuring, with the current independent-majority model introduced in June 2021.
Those reforms reduced the Members’ Council’s direct influence over the board while strengthening independent oversight. Another insider said: “There’s no doubting that taking away the members council’s power has had massive positives. One is that we’ve seen sponsorships come on board like never before. Yet these guys think they can go back to the old days and have their power.It’s scary.”
World Cup shifts focus toward stability
CSA will hold its annual meeting on September 26, but Cricbuzz’s reporting indicates that a return to the previous board model will neither be discussed nor put forward for a decision at the meeting. The immediate priority instead remains maintaining stability as preparations intensify for one of the biggest events South African cricket will stage.
Another source said: “We need stability in the game.”
South Africa will co-host the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup with Zimbabwe and Namibia in October and November 2027. The underlying disagreement over how power should be divided between independent directors and provincial representatives therefore remains unresolved, leaving the governance question deferred while CSA moves deeper into its World Cup preparations.
