Former provincial cricketer, administrator, and Proteas manager, Robbie Muzzell, gave PROBUS members a historic look in to his administrative roles in SA cricket and transformation at a gathering at the SA River & Ski Boat Club.
Seventy-nine-year-old Muzzell represented Transvaal, Western Province and EP from the mid-60s to the late 70s at various stages of his career. He took up position as Proteas team manager for the 1994–95 tour of Australia and the 1996 Cricket World Cup in India.
Muzzell used as a departure point as it concerns SA Cricket’s transformation programme, the fallout of what became known as the “D’Oliveira Affair”. The late Basil D’ Oliveira, a cricketer of colour, from Cape Town, who had left the county, was chosen to play for England in 1968 on a scheduled tour to SA after a player was left out due to injury. However, prime minister at the time, BJ Vorster, said the team would not be welcome in the country. The tour was shelved as a result.
“In my opinion, this was the start of SA’s sporting isolation,” said Muzzell.
He said after his playing days he ventured in to administration and joined up with Border Cricket in the 1990s where he rose to position of president.
Muzzell said Border Cricket’s “pride and joy” was to develop young disadvantaged cricketers.
“We had the best development programme in the country at the time by miles and that’s because we had a dedicated gentleman running it, and he is Greg Hayes.”
“Greg would find a place in the middle of nowhere in the old Ciskei villages and, because he had a friend in the department of public works, he would organise their equipment and they would set upon the task of preparing a cricket field – from nothing.”
Muzzell said the result of Hayes’ dedication was the laying of pitches on 110 fields (formerly dry overgrown open veld) and 130 nets. Coaches would be identified among the teachers by Hayes. “Greg would make sure he gets them to East London to do a Level 1 coaching course. ”
“And it’s in a little village called Mdingi where two coaches called up Greg to come and have a look at this chap who was bowling there.
“This youngster who came into bowl with open tekkies, soles flapping in front of it, impressed him. “The first thing Greg did was to get him a pair of sponsored boots sponsored and who was this player? … it was Makhaya Ntini.
“And Makhaya Ntini went from Mdingi village for his name to be etched on the honours board at Lord’s Cricket ground forever after taking 10 wickets in a match there – and went on to take 390 wickets in his Test career with the Proteas. So just imagine that,” said Muzzell.
Muzzell acknowledged with high praise, Mercedes Benz’s backing of development of the game in the Border area at the time.
Muzzell also touched on the unification process around cricket and the effort to get two opposing bodies – the SA Cricket Union and non-racial SA Cricket Board – around the table for talks in the late 80s.
“In our initial meetings it was people like Geoff Dakin, Krish Mackerduhj, Ali Bacher, Joe Pamensky – and it seems they were talking past each other at times. At the time, Mluleki George was in Lusaka with the ANC engaging the Nationalist Party to prepare for the day of the release of Nelson Mandela.”
Muzzell said a delegation from both sides of the cricketing divide was eventually invited to the ANC’s headquarters, Shell House, in 1990 to meet with the ANC’s Steve Tshwete. He said the discussions were heated at times but Tshwete the skilled negotiatior he was, cajoled parties into focusing on the matter at hand.
“The United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) was formed from the two opposing bodies.”
“At our very first UCB meeting the phone rang, … it was a Sunday and Ali went out and came back”, explained Muzzell.
“And he (Ali) said, ‘you won’t believe it, but that was a call from head of Indian cricket he has given us an invitation to send a team to play India from Thursday because Pakistan has pulled out of a series’.”
The tour in 1991 which became known as the “Friendship Tour”, saw South Africa return to international cricket after more than 20 years of isolation.
“Ali in three days organised a chartered aeroplane and they picked a side with Clive Rice as captain … it included a delegation of administrators and wives at a cost of R5,000 each per ticket for the 50 seats available on the aircraft, which would pay for the fuel. Our first Test was in Kolkata (then Calcutta) at Eden gardens in front of 100,000 fans.
“We drove into Eden Gardens and the streets were lined for 5km with the Indian fans keen to see us; we had to stop at three places along the way to make speeches. They put us up like absolute royalty. What an incredible experience that was.”
One of the most significant moments of his tenure as manager came during the Proteas’ historic victory over Australia in Sydney in 1994. “On the third day Australia having to make 117 to win, were 60/4 overnight.”
“On that (fourth) morning Alan Donald came up to bowl and Alan Border (Australian captain) just padded up to one ball that touched the off stump and we were back in it … and won the match. “Fanie de Villiers bowled brilliantly (6/43) to give SA victory by five runs. It was the most amazing cricket match.”
Muzzell said meeting and talking at some length to his cricketing hero, the late Sir Donald Bradman, in Adelaide, Australia, when the “great man” walked into the change-room was a never-to-be-forgotten moment.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, February 20, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
