Although Dominic Hendricks will captain the Lions in Thursday’s CSA First-Class tournament final against the Titans at the Wanderers, he understands the Knights’ feelings following their second relegation in three seasons.
“It’s very difficult to deal with,” Hendricks, who spent February and March playing seven one-day games for the Knights on loan, said at a press conference on Tuesday. “With relegation hanging over their heads, you have to understand how intense it gets. This season, they’ve played some respectable cricket, and if you look at the matches where they’ve lost in the final few overs, things might have gone other way.”
Only three of the Free Staters’ seven one-day games, one of their seven first-class games, and two of their seven Twenty20 matches were victories. In the T20 competition, they lost by three runs in a super over with seven and nine balls remaining, although the majority of their losses were by large margins. In one of their subsequent games in the 50-over format, they were dismissed with just seven deliveries left.
Points are given based on a formula that considers results in all three formats and is distinct from the competition rankings to determine which eight teams make up the top flight.
The Knights will be among the seven second-division teams next summer after missing the cut with six wins from 21 games. In a last-ditch effort to stay afloat, they have stepped into mediation, which may turn into arbitration or even a legal case, but that looks doubtful.
Their argument seems to be that the Dolphins and Warriors’ one-day match at Kingsmead on February 16 ought to be removed from the record. The Warriors won by 126 runs, however they were forfeited all five points and fined USD27,300, half of which was suspended for five years, for fielding two black players without permission rather than the minimum of three needed by CSA’s transformation ideology.
According to reports, the Knights want the Warriors to lose the victory in the one-day standings as well. However, that would do nothing as it would give the Warriors and Knights three wins apiece. As a result, the Warriors’ better net run-rate would keep them ahead of the Knights.
The Warriors’ net run-rate would only fall below the Knights’ and the Knights would surpass the Warriors in the one-day standings if the February 16 game and all of its data were completely removed. If that were the case, the Warriors would lose.
However, with good reason, that type of action is regarded as unparalleled in cricket. In that game, Jordan Hermann scored an undefeated 148. If the game was deleted, that performance would have to be removed from his record, which would be incredibly unfair to him. Additionally, Andile Mokgakane would not want his 4 for 23 record to be forgotten. The umpires and all the players involved would have their career statistics manipulated.
That would just make the already absurd situation worse. The Warriors have also chosen mediation, which makes sense given CSA’s awkward overreaction to their offence. A just punishment would have been the fine. Being denied all the points also implies that CSA’s suits did not consider this for the first time. The Eastern Capers, who lack funds, undoubtedly want the fine to be revoked.
The fact that CSA handed four of those points to the Warriors’ defeated opponents is even more ridiculous. The Dolphins would not have made it to the playoffs would it not have been for that. Unbelievably, they went on to win the championship. Although the Dolphins did nothing illegal, they will have to deal with the fact that many people view them as illegitimate champions.
When Hendricks said, “You really do feel for the Knights,” “Unfortunately, [promotion and relegation] have been put into place because of the structure of our system. Unfortunately, it’s something that we must all deal with. Since the Knights are taking the brunt of it, let’s hope they can recover and compete for promotion the following season.”
Titans captain Neil Brand, Hendricks’ opponent, was less candid when asked if he thought the existing system was good: “That is a very difficult question. It’s difficult for the Knights; they don’t deserve to lose, in my opinion. I won’t remark on the system because it is what it is and I don’t know if it will change in the future. The Knights’ financial transition from division one to division two is really brutal. It’s heartbreaking to witness such a severe hit.”
Gerald Coetzee, one of the Knights’ homegrown players, defected to the Titans the first time it happened.
They got struck in the pocket as well. In comparison to division two organisations, division one affiliates receive nearly three times as much income from CSA to offset their coach and player compensation expenditures, and sponsors are less likely to want to tie their brands to a subpar team.
Although the two-tier system has been in existence since 2022–2023, worries about its financial viability and the small number of matches it provides players with may lead to a revision in the near future. With the other affiliates participating as amateurs, it is believed that CSA is considering an eight- or ten-team professional setup.
Therefore, Brand was right to openly question if transformation was possible. Additionally, to have little opinion on whether the structure was appropriate for its intended use. With the exception of two appearances for the Johannesburg Super Kings in January 2023, he has played all of his domestic cricket for CSA’s most successful and likely wealthiest affiliate. For the Titans to have to deal with the possibility of relegation, a lot would need to go wrong. Not so much for the Knights. Hendricks is well aware of that.
India
