Proteas coach told to reapply for job

Proteas coach Russell Domingo could be nearing the end of his tenure after Cricket South Africa announced on Saturday it was about to start the search for a coach to take charge after his contract ends in August.

Domingo, who was appointed in 2013 after the surprise decision of Gary Kirsten to step down, has had two extensions of his contract. 

He was initially appointed to take South Africa through to the 2015 one-day international World Cup but before the tournament this was extended to April 2016.

The latest extension is until the end of the side's Test tour of England in August, though it seems no further extensions are contemplated.

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According to the last paragraph of a statement following a board meeting, "the board of directors resolved to commence the recruitment process for the appointment of a Proteas head coach to take charge after the tour to the UK until after the 2019 edition of the ICC World Cup".

Asked for clarification, a CSA spokesperson said Domingo could apply if he wanted to continue.

In a recent press conference Domingo said he was planning his career "one series at a time".

Domingo's position looked shaky last year after South Africa lost successive Test series against India and England, then failed to get past the group-stage in the World Twenty20. 

But the team has achieved good results in both Tests and one-day matches since then, most notably having defeated Australia 2-1 in their recent Commonwealth Bank Test series in November.

The Proteas, the third-ranked side on the International Cricket Council's charts, have since completed a 3-0 Test series clean-sweep of Sri Lanka at home, before losing the T20I series 2-1.

Domingo's tenure has been further challenged by a number of South Africans forgoing their international careers by signing Kolpak deals with England counties.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dane Vilas this week became the latest to join the exodus after signing a deal with Lancashire. Kyle Abbott‚ Rilee Rossouw (both Hampshire), Simon Harmer (Essex) Stiaan van Zyl (Sussex) and Hardus Viljoen (Derbyshire) have all recently signed deals to play domestic cricket in the United Kingdom.

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South Africans are able to play in England under a 2003 European Court of Justice decision that gave rights of freedom of work and movement to citizens of countries that had signed European Union Association Agreements, dubbed the 'Kolpak' ruling after Slovak handball player Maroš Kolpak.

For county cricket, it opened the door for clubs to circumvent restrictions on signing international players and contract South African cricketers as Kolpak players under EU law.

There is uncertainty about the future for the Kolpak ruling following the United Kingdom's 'Brexit' referendum in favour of leaving the European Union, which is seen as a factor in the rapidly increasing exodus of talent out of South Africa.