Former Proteas and Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo has reiterated that it would be a disaster for cricket in the Eastern Cape should the Warriors be relegated this season.
The sport in the province, one of SA’s top talent-producing regions, is in jeopardy of taking yet another hit, given that the Warriors now sit at the bottom of the promotion-relegation standings in Division One.
Cricket in the province is already in a poor state with dwindling sponsorships and poor governance.
If the Warriors were to be demoted to Division Two, they would potentially lose their sponsor, Dafabet, and the game in the region would suffer from the grassroots to the professional level.
Domingo, a former Warriors coach, told SportsBoom.co.za in an exclusive interview that relegation of the franchise would have extremely negative consequences for cricket in the Eastern Cape.
“I think it’s an absolute disaster,” he said.
“If the Warriors go into the second division, that’ll be a massive disaster in terms of sponsors, in terms of retaining players.”
Born and bred in Gelvandale, Domingo holds the province close to his heart as it gave him the platform to become the first-ever Proteas coach of colour.
Domingo would go on to lead the Proteas to many series victories, including the 2016 Test series victory Down Under, before he moved on to coach Bangladesh a few years later.
With all his experience, Domingo, who now coaches the Lions, wants the domestic structure to be reviewed, saying he believes it is not the right structure for South African cricket.
“I’m hoping CSA [Cricket SA] realise that you can’t not have cricket in that region and that something gets done regarding the domestic structure going forward because it’ll be a hammer blow for cricket in that particular region.
“And I’ve said in meetings, I don’t agree with this promotion-relegation sort of system.
“Coaches are sort of picking teams to just stay up in the first division and not picking teams that can produce players to play, and that’s a big problem.
“So, yeah, it’ll be a hammer blow for regional boarders in the second division.”
Domestic teams in SA play a total of 21 games a season, seven in each of the three formats, excluding the playoff matches in each format — way fewer than their international peers.
However, with SA cricket struggling financially, Cricket SA has communicated on many occasions that the decision to stage fewer domestic matches is purely financial.
Domingo wants domestic teams to play more games and has called on Cricket SA to start making cricketing decisions instead of financial decisions only.
“Obviously, finances are important, but they’ve got to make some good critical decisions,” he said.
“I think we’ve got to try to increase the number of teams competing in division one. Who those 10 teams are, I don’t know because we play far too little cricket.
“I mean, we play seven four-day games. Here’s a prime example, we had a one game write-off, so we’re actually ending up playing six games a season.
“So, it’s far too little domestic cricket.
“You’re not going to have enough time to develop players, to play at the highest level, and that’s a big concern.”
The Warriors have one fixture left this season, and it is against the in-form Dolphins.
Should they lose that encounter, they will most likely lose their Division One status. — SportsBoom
Warriors’ relegation would be disaster for Eastern Cape cricket — Domingo
Former Proteas and Bangladesh coach says demotion of franchise would be a hammer blow in terms of sponsors, retaining players
Image: MUZI NTOMBELA/BACKPAGEPIX
Former Proteas and Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo has reiterated that it would be a disaster for cricket in the Eastern Cape should the Warriors be relegated this season.
The sport in the province, one of SA’s top talent-producing regions, is in jeopardy of taking yet another hit, given that the Warriors now sit at the bottom of the promotion-relegation standings in Division One.
Cricket in the province is already in a poor state with dwindling sponsorships and poor governance.
If the Warriors were to be demoted to Division Two, they would potentially lose their sponsor, Dafabet, and the game in the region would suffer from the grassroots to the professional level.
Domingo, a former Warriors coach, told SportsBoom.co.za in an exclusive interview that relegation of the franchise would have extremely negative consequences for cricket in the Eastern Cape.
“I think it’s an absolute disaster,” he said.
“If the Warriors go into the second division, that’ll be a massive disaster in terms of sponsors, in terms of retaining players.”
Born and bred in Gelvandale, Domingo holds the province close to his heart as it gave him the platform to become the first-ever Proteas coach of colour.
Domingo would go on to lead the Proteas to many series victories, including the 2016 Test series victory Down Under, before he moved on to coach Bangladesh a few years later.
With all his experience, Domingo, who now coaches the Lions, wants the domestic structure to be reviewed, saying he believes it is not the right structure for South African cricket.
“I’m hoping CSA [Cricket SA] realise that you can’t not have cricket in that region and that something gets done regarding the domestic structure going forward because it’ll be a hammer blow for cricket in that particular region.
“And I’ve said in meetings, I don’t agree with this promotion-relegation sort of system.
“Coaches are sort of picking teams to just stay up in the first division and not picking teams that can produce players to play, and that’s a big problem.
“So, yeah, it’ll be a hammer blow for regional boarders in the second division.”
Domestic teams in SA play a total of 21 games a season, seven in each of the three formats, excluding the playoff matches in each format — way fewer than their international peers.
However, with SA cricket struggling financially, Cricket SA has communicated on many occasions that the decision to stage fewer domestic matches is purely financial.
Domingo wants domestic teams to play more games and has called on Cricket SA to start making cricketing decisions instead of financial decisions only.
“Obviously, finances are important, but they’ve got to make some good critical decisions,” he said.
“I think we’ve got to try to increase the number of teams competing in division one. Who those 10 teams are, I don’t know because we play far too little cricket.
“I mean, we play seven four-day games. Here’s a prime example, we had a one game write-off, so we’re actually ending up playing six games a season.
“So, it’s far too little domestic cricket.
“You’re not going to have enough time to develop players, to play at the highest level, and that’s a big concern.”
The Warriors have one fixture left this season, and it is against the in-form Dolphins.
Should they lose that encounter, they will most likely lose their Division One status. — SportsBoom
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