Fresh controversy strikes Cricket Namibia

CRICKET Namibia has been hit by allegations of favouritism, nepotism and a lack of development and transformation following recent resignations, according to an anonymous seven-page letter sent to the media.

At the time of going to press, Cricket Namibia (CN) had not replied to questions, but CN board member Laurie Pieters said the allegations were completely uninformed and “a laugh a minute”.

According to the letter, national under-19 coach Norbert Manyande was fired along with the national strength and conditioning coach, Clint Henry, while the national women’s coach Gareth Cloete resigned from his post last week.

It said that Manyande was fired three months ago and replaced by Robby Joseph, an English coaching consultant, without the post being advertised.

Manyande was very successful with the under-19s, and guided them to their best performance yet at last year’s Junior World Cup, where they finished seventh to qualify automatically for next year’s tournament.

Manyande, however, could not be reached for comment.

The letter stated that Henry had been sacked and replaced by Jeanine Snyman, wife of board member Andre Snyman, while Cloete had resigned last week due to “mistreatment, and board members protecting each other and their children”.

Cloete confirmed that he had resigned, but denied the allegations.

“I resigned last week, but it is not true that I was mistreated by the board. I just didn’t see eye to eye with one of the board members regarding women’s cricket. I wouldn’t write an anonymous letter. That person already knows my position, so for me it’s not newsworthy,” he stated.

Without elaborating, however, Cloete said there had been “some wrongdoing”with regard to the women’s cricket team.

“They went on the best run they ever had, but sometimes people protect their own interests. They knew there was some wrongdoing, but they didn’t act on it. It’s bad enough for the players that I left, because they have to prepare for the regional World Cup qualifiers coming up in September now,” he noted.

Cloete said he felt a lot more could be done in terms of development.

“The national team has done well lately, but so much more can be done. For instance, in terms of upgrading the skills of local coaches, and to transfer knowledge. This is such a vast country. I did a three-year plan on cricket development and gave it to the board, but not much came of it,” he added.

The anonymous letter hits out at Cricket Namibia’s board, calling it “the royal family”that is just out to protect each other and their children.

It accuses CN board members Andre Snyman, Franklin Green and Hester Khan, as well as CEO Donovan Zealand of nepotism, saying they were out to protect their children who all play in various national teams.

It also said that Zealand had not brought about change at CN, and had been “corrupted by the system”, while there was no development or transformation in cricket.

According to the letter, two members who were coopted to CN’s board, Justice Angula and Elize Petersen, didn’t have any knowledge of cricket; that they were just elected to protect the image of Namibian cricket; and that they regularly missed board meetings.

Petersen said there were some divisions in cricket, but that it was making big strides.

“I haven’t attended all of the meetings, but I’ve attended some. I did notice that there is some division in the board, but I also think that cricket is doing a lot of good things which are not being seen by the public, and I’ve been telling them to promote that more.

Petersen said she was impressed with what cricket is doing in terms of development.

“Cricket is going places, despite the little resources they have. I’ve been involved with many sports as an administrator, and I must say I’m impressed with what cricket is doing.”

Zealand did not reply to questions by the time of going to press, but CN board member Pieters said the allegations were “a laugh a minute”.

“Robby Joseph was contracted by Cricket Namibia as a cricket consultant from England, but his contract is over, and I believe he has returned to England. Jeanine Snyman last worked for Cricket Namibia more than two years ago, but she resigned due to work commitments, and has got nothing to do with the team anymore.”

Pieters also scoffed at allegations that he was standing in the way of transformation, and that he was tipped as the next CN CEO.

“I’m 73, for goodness sake; I’ve got no interest whatsoever in being the CEO of CN. This letter is devoid of truth and a laugh a minute,” he stated.