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Cricket South Africa has moved to quell the threat of legal action from the owners who were awarded franchise rights to the Twenty20 Global League by insisting that they could still be a part of a new league.
Four of the eight owners had made it clear that they were considering legal action against CSA after the organisation struck an equity deal with broadcaster SuperSport for a league that is due to begin in November, and accused CSA of "manipulating the process".
While the threat was enough to prompt an emergency board meeting on Wednesday, CSA attempted to strike a breezy tone in a press release issued on Friday morning, insisting that they "welcomed the interest".
"The fact that they want to be part of it is an encouraging response, and this confirms that they believe, as we indeed do, that our new T20 is a good product that compares with the best international standards," acting chief executive Thabang Moroe was quoted as saying. "At the same time, it is essential that we follow process in the development of our T20 strategy which in the first place required us to resolve the outstanding issues from last year.
"As has been well documented, the key to the postponement was the inability to secure key stakeholders and revenue streams. We have now secured a broadcasting equity partner and are currently engaging potential sponsors. Once those parties are secured as a collective the business plan will be finalised. We will then be in a position to clarify what we can propose and offer to other stakeholders."
There was, however, some reading between the lines to be done. The release referred to the owners as "former franchise holders of the defunct T20 Global League", a clear indication that CSA want to differentiate between the league they are setting up with SuperSport and the one that cost them more than R200 million when it dissolved in an expensive heap last year.
The owners had insisted that, having won the rights to T20 franchises in their respective cities, they reserve those rights in any new league. CSA's phrasing appeared to be a subtle way of claiming that they do not. Given that this is just one of several complex issues that will need to be resolved if a league is to finally get off the ground, there are likely to be further bumps in the road.
CSA welcomes "former franchise owners" to new league | Cricbuzz.com
Four of the eight owners had made it clear that they were considering legal action against CSA after the organisation struck an equity deal with broadcaster SuperSport for a league that is due to begin in November, and accused CSA of "manipulating the process".
While the threat was enough to prompt an emergency board meeting on Wednesday, CSA attempted to strike a breezy tone in a press release issued on Friday morning, insisting that they "welcomed the interest".
"The fact that they want to be part of it is an encouraging response, and this confirms that they believe, as we indeed do, that our new T20 is a good product that compares with the best international standards," acting chief executive Thabang Moroe was quoted as saying. "At the same time, it is essential that we follow process in the development of our T20 strategy which in the first place required us to resolve the outstanding issues from last year.
"As has been well documented, the key to the postponement was the inability to secure key stakeholders and revenue streams. We have now secured a broadcasting equity partner and are currently engaging potential sponsors. Once those parties are secured as a collective the business plan will be finalised. We will then be in a position to clarify what we can propose and offer to other stakeholders."
There was, however, some reading between the lines to be done. The release referred to the owners as "former franchise holders of the defunct T20 Global League", a clear indication that CSA want to differentiate between the league they are setting up with SuperSport and the one that cost them more than R200 million when it dissolved in an expensive heap last year.
The owners had insisted that, having won the rights to T20 franchises in their respective cities, they reserve those rights in any new league. CSA's phrasing appeared to be a subtle way of claiming that they do not. Given that this is just one of several complex issues that will need to be resolved if a league is to finally get off the ground, there are likely to be further bumps in the road.
CSA welcomes "former franchise owners" to new league | Cricbuzz.com