Share

Chaos in Proteas ranks

Altus Momberg and Eduan Roos

Johannesburg – The shock resignation of Proteas coach Mickey Arthur has dumped the South African team’s preparations for the important tour of India into chaos.

GALLERY: Mickey Arthur - highs and lows

Corrie van Zyl, who is CSA’s high performance centre coach, will apparently take the team to India. It will be a tough task to gain the team’s confidence at short notice.

The first Test starts in Nagpur on February 6.

The process to look for a new coach will start when the team returns from India. It will not be easy to find a successor for Arthur.

A favourite such as Gary Kirsten still has two years left to run on his contract with India.

It is not a major surprise that Arthur has decided to pack his bags now. The Proteas’ poor performances in 2009 obviously did not help his cause.

Captain Graeme Smith and Arthur had the world at their feet at the end of 2008, but were brought down to earth with a thud in 2009.

They lost at home to Australia and lost in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 world championship.

A poor performance in the Champions Trophy tournament was followed by a defeat in the one-day series against England.

The drawn Test series against England was apparently the final straw.

It became evident in the last few weeks of the Test series against England that the once formidable partnership of Arthur and Smith was deteriorating.

It was Smith’s statements on the eve of the last Test against England that raised many eyebrows.

Arthur spoke about how the Proteas would “gamble” to win the Test.

Smith then made a point of saying at his news conference: “I don’t agree with words like ‘gamble’. You rather have to do the basic things right. A good, positive mental approach is important. We have to find a way of getting the best out of the players and help them realise their potential.”

This was apparently a swipe at team management.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1778 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE