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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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