Enoch Nkwe has resigned as the assistant coach of the Proteas team with immediate effect despite Cricket South Africa's (CSA) “every effort to retain his services". He was serving as South Africa’s assistant coach since December 2019.
CSA made all possible efforts to convince the former South African Team Director to stay on the role as the assistant coach of the national men’s team, but couldn’t and finally accepted his resignation after a meeting of CSA's Board of Directors on Tuesday night.
It is being said that Nkwe left the job because of disillusionment with the job of assistant coach and differences of opinion with head coach Mark Boucher, as he felt sidelined with the latter’s strong presence and he has less of a role at training sessions.
In the meeting, Nkwe also raised concerns about the functioning and culture of the team environment.
CSA said in a statement, “While every effort was made to retain his services, Enoch has decided to focus on personal growth and professional development. This affords him the opportunity to return to the system in the future with a better sense of himself and being certain of the direction of his career.”
The statement added, “He has emphasized his unwavering commitment to SA cricket and especially the men's team as they embark on a key tour to Sri Lanka in preparation for the T20 World Cup in October. The Board will be taking the necessary steps to investigate and address the issues raised by Enoch. We will not be commenting further on this until the process has been completed.”
Meanwhile, CSA Board Chair Lawson Naidoo said, “It is deeply disappointing to lose someone of Enoch's caliber at this time, but we fully understand and respect his decision. We are comforted by the fact that he remains committed to SA cricket, and hope that he will be back serving the game that we all love. He has been and continues to be an inspiration to young cricketers and coaches.”
Noteworthy, CSA has left the door open for Nkwe's return in the future but at present, and they asked the Acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki to oversee a process to urgently find a replacement for the latter ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE and Oman.
(With ANI Inputs)
