Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe has a Job on his hands and we need him to be calculated, strategic and ruthless, writes Khalid Mohidin.

The Proteas’ embarrassing exit from the World Cup once again shed a light on the incompetence in our sport at the top level. This was not just a loss on the day, this was not just a loss in the tournament. This was a loss for South African cricket.

This was a representation of terrible selection strategies and inconsistent team culture that have been eating away at our game. We can definitely throw in political interference too as one of the obvious symptoms.

I’ve said it plenty of times, and I will say it again. South Africa has BEEN in a ‘transition phase’. But the hard truth is that the transition phase never started. Why is that? Because there has not been a succession plan and it dates back to Russell Domingo’s departure from the national side.

That was the perfect time to blood in young talent – when the likes of Faf, AB, Amla, Steyn, Morkel, and Philander were on their way out. We lost that chance by appointing Ottis Gibson, whose knowledge on the domestic circuit was limited.

So now we are where we are. Having lost a T20 World Cup with a team that was touted to be one of the best squads we have ever had going into a World Cup, and getting pummelled by the lowest-ranked team in the tournament in a must-win game.

We are still picking experienced players who are inexperienced in international cricket. These players also have to find a way to adapt and keep their spot in the XI. They aren’t equipped to help a young player struggling if they themselves are experiencing the same issues. You can’t help others if you haven’t first helped yourself. It’s air crash 101. And if we do find an experienced international player that we want to bring into the setup, it should not be detrimental to the ethos of the team and the environment.

We need to start now. The World Cup blunder should be a wake-up call to those in control of SA cricket. We can’t keep making the same mistakes and expecting different results.

Let’s start with the selectors. This is based on observation. I feel, based on our track record of new Proteas transitioning into the team, there have been more Proteas caps handed out in the last 5 years than I have seen in my lifetime. Every time there is a struggle, we throw something new and shiny at it and hope that the player finds it within himself to play well and be the saviour.

We rely on saviours way too much in our cricket. We have been passing around the responsibility with no one has grabbing it and running towards the white line.

Now that Boucher is gone, there needs to be a reset, and this includes selectors and coaches. Also, no player should be sentimentally safe either. We need a cultural reset, mental reset and structural reform if we want to save our sport.

Let me paint you a scenario to get the conversion started…

1. The DOC and his team discuss where they want to see South African cricket going (which I assume has happened already).
2. Next, there needs to be a selection panel with a pedigree put in place, that understands how to identify players that have the right mentality, technical ability and personality that fits into a high-performance culture. If you are good enough you are old enough. It’s not just about stats alone, it’s about the story that the stats tell you about the player.
3. The coach needs to be aligned with the plan and vision that was drawn up by the DOC and his team – this is not about finding a stopgap that can help us win games in the short term, it’s about building a team that grows together, improves together, loses together and wins together. Everyone must buy into the vision and the culture.
4. The coach’s staff needs to be qualified and able to improve players technically. They should have the ability to identify shortcomings and find solutions to fix them. We don’t have the luxury of picking experienced players, so we need to grow our own. This means consistency over time becomes vital.
5. There needs to be CONSTANT communication between the national side and the domestic unions. Conversations need to be held with future talent and the current talent on where they stand in the local game, what they need to improve on in their game to meet international standards, and if they are showing signs of being ready, a PDP (Player development plan) needs to be put in place to get the players as ready as possible for the step up.
6. We also need to find the budget in the setup for a Sports Psychologist.

I feel that if these basic criteria are met, we will be on the right track to really make positive strides forward to not only have a succession plan but also a successful one too.

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I will dedicate time to talk about this in a lot more detail in shows over the coming weeks. So, subscribe to the channel and call in to the shows to have your say.

Here’s a raw reaction to the loss: