The week in SA sport ... sportsfire.co.za 13 March 2014 Is 7 overs really a game of cricket? The Proteas lost the 2nd T-20 international against Australia in Durban by five wickets but calling it a T-20 is misleading as the match was reduced to seven overs a side due to rain. Some of the commentators got quite animated and called it “great cricket”. I’m in the other camp and think a better description would have been a great hit and giggle. But it goes into the record books as a loss – so, one has to ask a few questions. If only seven overs, should Miller or Morkel not have opened the batting with de Kock? 80/1 seemed like a good score but with the kind of form Warner is in, it wasn’t enough. Although, you would have still backed the Proteas to win it with the Aussies still needing 15 off the final over. Parnell bowled the last over and Hodge hit two sixes off balls 3 and 4 to seal the deal. I still believe Rusty Theron is one of the best death bowlers in SA cricket but I guess you can’t play if you’re not in the squad. No funding? Seldom does a week go by without news of more SA sportsmen and women being denied a chance of competing on the International stage because of a lack of funding. SA will not be sending a team to the Africa Cross Country championships in Uganda this weekend and the SA Men’s hockey side will not be competing in the Champions Challenge in Scotland in April. The only losers are the athletes. The problem is the flawed funding model in SA sport and the head strong Department of Sport and Recreation and SASCOC. The Lotto (which a number of sporting federations survive on) has capped grants to each federation at R2 million. Some sports used to get between 5 and 10 million. Now, most of that Lotto money is being channelled directly through the Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA), with seemingly no cap and a lot of it is allegedly being misappropriated. pmg.org.za/report/20140218-national-lottery-budget-allocated-sport-briefing-department-trade-and-industry-national-lotteries-board?utm_source=Drupal&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Free%20Alerts From the latest National Lottery budget allocated to sport: briefing by Department of Trade and Industry & National Lotteries Board on 18 February 2014: • The National Lotteries Board (NLB) reported that Sport received 22% of the Grant Funding budget from Board • NLB said it used the Sport and Recreation Distribution Agency (SRDA) as its implementing wing, where it simply gave SRDA the money and SRDA decided where the money would go to • SRSA spent more than R150 million on CHAN 2014 • SRDA funded the World Conference on Doping in Sport (WADA) which had taken place in Johannesburg in 2013 According to SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS): “The conference wasnt ours to organize. We merely had a presence - as the host countrys National Anti-Doping Organization. It was wholly WADA sponsored in collaboration with SRSA & City of Johannesburg.” Wholly WADA sponsored? Hmmmmm ... So, why was more than R10-million paid from another Sports Trust (being used as a conduit for SRSA and the Lotto) for this conference and why does SRDA not make mention of how much they paid for the same event. The Sports Trust, SRSA and SRDA have failed to respond to several emails, asking where this money went. More ... SRDA chairman, Mveleli Ncula in the Lotto report : “SRSA had set-up a Sports Trust as a conduit to apply on its behalf for R 200 million for the National Schools Championship. The SRDA had agreed to fund that championship in tranches of R 50 million per year over a period of four years in total.” Funny that this Sports Trust was set up in September 1995 and in their last set of financials, the Trust received more than R 59 million for the National Schools Championship and more than R 63 million was spent. Once again, no reply from SRDA, SRSA or the Trust on the alleged financial irregularities. Chairman of the Sports Trust, Rob Fleming said back in January, he was going to get a “forensic audit” done – that has now changed to an “independent review”. Why? The R2.5 million that disappeared for R Kelly to perform at the Nelson Mandela Sports day is a drop in the ocean compared to what is really going on. As this maladministration and alleged corruption continues in SA sport, there will be fewer and fewer SA sportsmen and women able to compete on the International stage. It’s a very sad state of affairs. In the quickies ... Kaizer Chiefs’ 16 match unbeaten run in the PSL has ended as they lost 2-nil to Platinum Stars. Pirates under new coach, Vladimir Vermezovic beat Swallows 1-nil but the Buccaneers are still 10 points behind Chiefs with a game in hand. A massive win for Kevin Anderson in the 4th round at the Paribas Open. Anderson upsetting the Australian Open champion, Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6, 4-6, 6-1. And Cricket South Africa says a “better test deal” for Proteas is on the table for longer series against the likes of England and Australia. Finally, quote of the week ... “Just saw my signature on the bat used by the accused in oscar trial ... lol #neveradullmoment.” - Herschelle Gibbs
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 07:56:04 +0000
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