Morkel Urges CSA Improvement

Morne Morkel says Cricket South Africa need to do more to stop the countries young players leaving for England.

Paceman Duanne Olivier, who moved into the top-20 ranked Test bowlers after a breakthrough summer, recently signed a three-year Kolpak deal with County Championship Division One outfit Yorkshire.

The 26-year-old, who has taken 48 wickets from 10 Test matches, will reportedly earn three times more in England than he would have if he took the two-year offer on the table from the CSA.

CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe described Olivier’s England switch as “extremely disappointing” but Morkel, who retired from international cricket last year, says more needs to be done to keep young players in the country.

“They have to sit down and come up with plans because they’re going to lose a lot of players in the near future and they need to protect against that,” he told cricket.com.au.

“Do you structure the contracting a little bit better? What security do you give the guys (in terms of) life after cricket?

“You talk about investing, but once a guy retires, they sort of drift away. I can name a number of players who they have invested a lot of money in, but you don’t see them coaching, you don’t see them involved with our academies.

“Give those guys a platform and say; ‘we’ve invested in you for so many years, when you’re thinking of settling down or moving on, this is where we see a role for you’. “I think that communication is not great at the moment so that’s something they can improve on.”