Cricket South Africa chief hands in sudden resignation

The acting chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), Jacques Faul, has tendered his resignation barely four months after Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula appointed him to restructure the embattled organisation.

However CSA has asked Faul, who according to insiders was "tired" of the infighting within the ranks of CSA and its affiliates, to reconsider his decision.

CSA's public relations manager, Altaaf Kazi, said that Faul would present his final decision to the Board on Thursday.

Faul took the reins at CSA following the suspension of long-time chief executive Gerald Majola in the wake of a ministerial committee finding that recommended disciplinary action and possible criminal charges against him following a two-year debacle over huge irregular IPL 2 bonus payments to him and other CSA staff.

The second edition of the Indian Premier League was played in South Africa due to security concerns around elections at the time in India.

Majola's disciplinary hearing, which was scheduled to be finalised last month, is still to start amid challenges over the composition of the panel from his legal team.

Faul has been lauded for his efforts in his short tenure at CSA to bring about the transformation that the Sports Minister had insisted on.

CSA sources also suggested that there had been disagreements between Faul and CSA President, Willie Basson, over the process, but neither official could be reached for comment.

In the latest battle in the saga that has seen sponsors shy away from CSA, a board member of the provincial Gauteng Cricket Board, which first raised a red flag over the IPL bonus issue, has asked Mbalula to also investigate the bitter battle within its ranks that has taken racial overtones.

Mbalula has reacted cautiously to this, saying that he would only intervene within the powers accorded to him by law.