South African cricket faces its ‘greatest crisis’

The government exercises its power to intervene in the running of the federation

The South African government exercised its power to intervene in the running of the country’s troubled cricket federation on Friday, leaving the federation to face its “greatest crisis” since the end of apartheid. Cricket South Africa’s interim board said it had received notice from sports minister Nathi Mthethwa that he had invoked a section of law allowing the government to take decisions out of the hands of sports officials when disputes can’t be resolved. The move threatens South Africa’s teams as the International Cricket Council does not allow governments to interfere in national cricket bodies. The ICC has previously banned countries from international competitions when that happens.