South Africa and India iron out the creases

Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat said on Tuesday he had a ‘constructive’ meeting with India cricket board honorary secretary Sanjay Patel over the countries’ uncertain end-of-year tour schedule, although any decision to shorten the program will have to wait until a BCCI meeting later this month.

India are unhappy with the number of matches and length of tour announced by CSA in July, which initially had the Indians touring for two Twenty20 games, seven ODIs and three Tests over two months from late November.

India has already effectively forced South Africa to shorten the tour by scheduling the first game of their one-day series in New Zealand for January 19, the same day the third Test against the top-ranked South Africans in Johannesburg was due to end.

“I am happy to say that we had a constructive meeting and I would like to thank Sanjay for his friendliness and support in trying to find a way forward,” Lorgat said in a statement on Tuesday.

However, a decision on the new dates would now have to wait until after the BCCI’s annual general meeting on September 29, CSA said.

Monday’s meeting in Dubai – on the sidelines of International Cricket Council business – also was held against the backdrop of Lorgat’s well-publicised troubled relationship with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, stemming from his time at the world body.

Once close, the two cricket boards then clashed over South Africa’s decision to appoint Lorgat to lead its national body this year and ignore obvious opposition from the BCCI. Lorgat conceded when he was unveiled as CSA’s new chief executive in late July that his relationship with India’s powerful board was ‘poor,’ but pledged to try and improve it.

Cricket South Africa also said it would try to arrange for the two board presidents to meet over the tour schedule after the BCCI’s AGM.