Cape Town - Cricket South Africa (CSA) wants to fill its Director of Cricket (DOC) position as soon as possible as the national side looks to recover from what has been a disastrous few months.
The Proteas returned from India on Thursday night after they were demolished 3-0 in their Test series, while they were also woeful in finishing 7th at the 2019 World Cup in England.
That failed campaign led to Ottis Gibson losing his job as head coach, and CSA was forced to scramble together a management team for the Indian tour that included Corrie van Zyl as acting DOC and Enoch Nkwe as interim Team Director.
The new structure, the uncertainty around permanent management positions, CSA's financial crisis and a real concern over the depth of quality cricketers in South Africa currently have all combined to paint a picture of worrying times ahead for the Proteas.
Next up is a visit from world champions England, who will play four Test matches, three ODIs and three T20Is over the summer.
The Test matches are up first, and that is where South Africa must restore an element of faith from a cricketing public that has been left frustrated in 2019.
The DOC post is currently being advertised until October 31 and Van Zyl says CSA are looking to "get this uncertainty out of the way" as quickly as possible.
"I think it is the intention of CSA to fill that role as soon as possible, because from there flows the appointment of the Team Director," he told Sport24 over the phone on Thursday.
"It is in CSA's interest to get this DOC done and dusted as soon as possible."
Van Zyl confirmed that he had applied for the job himself, and that if unsuccessful he would return to his role as head of cricket pathways at CSA.
Whoever is appointed as DOC would then appoint the Team Director. Ideally, that would all need to happen before the England series gets underway on December 26, but if not then the Proteas would continue with Nkwe at the helm.
"We're hoping to get this uncertainty out the way by the time the England tour happens," Van Zyl said.
"What we do know is that by the time that happens we will probably have a DOC in position already. If we haven't completed the Team Director process, then we still have an acting in place."
When asked if CSA had identified anyone for the DOC role, Van Zyl replied: "I have no idea ... I'm sure there are going to be very good people applying for this role, so he or she might have a totally different view to me."
While Nkwe started his tenure with an encouraging 1-1 draw against India in their T20I series, the Test matches were as one-sided as you are ever likely to see.
It was, by all accounts, the most draining and testing of tours.
"We always knew it was going to be tough, but we all went there with expectations to do well and be competitive. It's tough and it hurts for the players and for Enoch," Van Zyl said.
"It doesn't matter how strong you are as a person, it's not nice losing. It's part of the experience and the development of a coach to work through those things.
"Having sat and discussed it with him (Nkwe), he is a person that looks forward based on the learnings that have gone past. He's not negative and he will be better for this experience."