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From the Cricket Journal

South African cricket has given the world some truly legendary personalities. One of them is Dr. Aron ‘Ali’ Bacher. Having represented his country both as a player and an administrator with immense success, Dr. Bacher was in India as a consultant to a South African based company for electronic scoreboards – ‘Stellavista’. Venkat Ananth caught up with him at the Coffee Shop of the Cricket Club of India, Mumbai.

Dr. Bacher to the present generation is a chapter from a story book. I, for one haven’t seen you play, but as far as I know, Dr. Bacher was one of South Africa’s best captains of all time. How do you look back at those years as the man who pioneered South African cricket ?

I played around 12 Test matches for South Africa between 1959 to 1974. As a captain of the South Africans, we played Australia in a four-test series in 1969-70 and thrashed them 4-0 at home. Apart from these international matches, I represented Transvaal for 14 years in the domestic competitions. And, I was one of the youngest captains in the first class scene in South Africa, until Hansie Cronje took charge of Free State at the age of 19 or so.


You were an astute captain during your playing days and one of the best known administrators cricket has seen. Was management natural to you ? Or you learnt the art as you progressed during your cricket ?


Yes. I did enjoy being a leader. As a schoolboy, I always wanted to lead people, in whichever sport – cricket, tennis or soccer. I was always seen as someone who liked motivating the lads and enjoyed helping people during tough times. I think leadership can be put down as an ingrained quality within me.


Your first brush with a major controversy was the organizing of the Rebel tours during the 1980s. Twenty-five years on, do you in anyway regret for doing so ?


If I could take you back to the scene in the 80’s, there were very restrictive laws. The blacks would oppose tours and most often than not, the organizers would be put behind bars. We always were living with this false sense of security, because we thought that everyone was happy with these games being played. When the Gatting rebel tour occurred in 1989, the then President of South Africa, FW de Klerk announced some amount of freedom of speech and expression. That’s when the blacks came out in numbers and protested the tour. Yes, in retrospect, I would’ve thought twice before organizing such tours.


The match-fixing will be the biggest yet irremovable blot on South Africa cricket. Does the ghost of 1999-00 still come back and haunt you ? Do you feel things could’ve been handled much better in this regard ?


When this match fixing saga came into the fore, I took immediate action by setting up a commission of enquiry under Edwin King. It was indeed a moment of national shame and a big moment of shock when Hansie Cronje confessed to it. The entire issue was handled to the best of our abilities. We were transparent, especially when we allowed cameras to take pictures of the proceedings. I drew a lot of criticism for not defending Hansie Cronje during this time, but as the managing director of the board, I had to stand for credibility. My personal view regarding the match fixing episode was that it was not only in South Africa that this was going on, but all over the sub-continent.


What are your personal views on the Boje and Gibbs controversy ? Are you of the opinion that they should visit India and co-operate with the investigating authorities ?


I am very confident that Nicky Boje was not a party to match-fixing. In my personal interactions with Nicky, his body language was very confident and did not give me indications to suggest he was guilty. As far as Gibbs is concerned, he admitted to match-fixing and subsequently, the Board did the right thing by handing him over a ban of 6 months. I am not very happy with the way the issue has been handled by both the boards. I feel that both Governments should step into the matter and resolve it as soon as possible. I can empathize with Herschelle and Nicky, as they could be subject to intense media harassment to go with the police and investigating authorities in India.
 

How and to what extent do you feel that the World Cup in 2003 has helped South Africa, both in cricket and non-cricketing terms ? Was it the ideal tonic the game could’ve asked for to boost its popularity ?


The entire country was charged up and galvanized during those two months. There was immense unity between all the ethnic communities in South Africa. Although, the majority of the crowds who came to the cricket were whites, the coloured (includes blacks and Asians) preferred to watch it on television. The very fact that such an event graced our country has surely been a catalyst to cricket’s popularity.


Cricket, as a social phenomenon in South Africa has gradually progressed from a rather white-centric sport to a mass and now raceless sport. Are coloured players like Gibbs, Amla, Prince, Ntini etc, soon turning into role-models for the youth in general and writing a new chapter in South African cricket ?


Not really. I would have liked to see more blacks at the top i.e. international level. Hashim Amla is surely one for the future, but as far as the black players go, Makhaya Ntini is certainly the number one today. I hope our team one day is filled with several top quality coloured players in order to reflect the true racial balance that South Africa is actually made up of.


What are your views about the current domestic structure in practice in South Africa ? Is the reduction of teams a good way to increase the competitiveness ?


I do not think the reduction of the number of teams has helped in increasing the competitiveness. Today, with so much of international cricket being played, the key players i.e. players who represent South Africa hardly play domestic cricket. I personally feel that is one of the better ways to increase competitiveness. If I went back to my playing days, every South African cricketer represented his province. And each and every match I played in the span of 14 years was absolutely competitive. Unless the Kallis’ and the Pollocks step up into the domestic scene regularly, I do not think the standards can be raised.


As a former Chief Organizer, what would be the ideal advice you would give to your West Indian colleagues ?


Firstly, they should avoid comparing our (South Africa) World Cup to theirs, mainly because of the difference in the region. They can leave their mark by producing facilities of international standards. I often wonder how the West Indies produce truly great cricketers with such poor facilities. I am sure that by improving the overall infrastructure and with the carnival-like atmosphere that already exists, the West Indies could give the World a tournament, which they are unlikely to forget.


What future do you see for African cricket ? Especially with Zimbabwe in a turmoil, Kenya – lack of proper domestic structure/new administration ? Is South Africa, the big brother playing an active role in the diffusion of crises and promotion of cricket in the continent?


As far as Zimbabwe is concerned, it is nothing but a self-inflicted conflict. Kenya is a totally different case altogether. As the Development Officer of the ICC, I initiated a process where Kenya acquired an official One-Day International status. What followed later was disheartening. They were hardly given any exposure against the top teams inspite of being World Cup semi-finalists.


How do you see South African cricket in the next 10 years ? Can you see some shades of your captaincy in Graeme Smith?


Graeme Smith comes across as a young and dynamic personality with a lot of character and determination to do well for his country. He has made some mistakes on the way, but that’s the advantage of being young. One hopes he could learn from them and become a better leader and cricketer in the near days to come. And as far as the future for South Africa is concerned, it looks very bright.

South African sport in general has taken a notch ahead when it comes to organizing World Cups. How do you think these events will change South Africa’s image in the world?


It has been very positive thus far, though the biggest is yet to come. The only reason why we have been successful enough to host these World Cups is that we have good infrastructure, good facilities like airports, hotels etc. and of course stadia of international standards. Cricket and rugby have most certainly helped change South Africa’s image in the minds of the people, but the most-awaited and the biggest event will be the Soccer World Cup in 2010.


Franz Beckenbauer in an interview last week talked about the power of football channelizing African nations together. He said “There is only one language they speak, there is only one power that brings them together.” Do you think cricket can also share the mantle and becoming a unifying force for African nations one day?


Not quite. I cannot see cricket making the same amount of impact as football has done in the continent – primarily because it is only a few countries like Uganda, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa that have taken up to the game. It will certainly make its mark as a popular sport and grow in a few countries but not on an overall scale.


Any memorable incidents on and off the field that you would both look back at and feel proud about?


The unification of South African cricket is right there at the top. That would be the biggest and the proudest moment for any South African cricketer, past or present. Subsequently, organizing the Cricket World Cup in 2003 successfully was a great way to sign-off.


 

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