If the recent Test series between Zimbabwe and Pakistan, levelled one-all by the home side after the mayhem on days four and five of the second Test, proved one thing it is that the hierarchy of Zimbabwe Cricket should have moved heaven and earth to keep the postponed series against Sri Lanka on the table.
Indeed, everything should have been done to ensure that the Test series, originally slated for four weeks in October, had happened and all aspersions against Zimbabwe’s Test status, raised yet again in a wretched series against West Indies seven months ago, be permanently laid to rest.
It was a golden opportunity to drive home their point, shown so impressively in the 2nd Test against the belligerent Pakistanis, and it has been missed, thanks to a terribly inept ZC.
The cricket mother body dropped the ball yet again, crushing the hopes of hundreds of young cricket players and thousands of fans for whom ZC have been entrusted to run the administration of the game.
The series against Sri Lanka is not going to happen and it’s a national shame to cry to Sri Lanka and beg that they stay at their home, because they cannot be accommodated in beautiful Zimbabwe.
This is a crippling shame indeed, only lesser in its embarrassment than the debacles of the national football association, whose decades-long incompetence can never be equalled.
An enthralling series comes to an end and will not be replaced by another any time soon. Instead, the young Zimbabwean lot of Brendan Taylor and company will have to wait almost a year for the next series against South Africa; and in that time, invaluable lessons that these brave young men have learnt, would have been long forgotten.
A thumping against their neighbours at that time might be in the offing. Or maybe not.
Two years ago, at the end of Zimbabwe’s enforced exile from Test cricket, the inconsistent Bangladeshis, previously cannon fodder for Andy Flower, Heath Streak and teams past, but now judged miles ahead of their bottom ranked counterparts, arrived.
They were talking up a thumping visit against the Southern Africa nation who hardly looked competitive in their five years of exile, at their worst under coach Kevin Curran and utterly confused under Walter Chawaguta.
Englishman Alan Butcher had only brought marginal improvement.
Shakib Al Hassan, the captain of the side, led the talk, and Tamim Iqbal amplified it with the now infamous “Jarvis and Vitori are ordinary bowlers” comment which he grew to regret following a mediocre series, in which he was cleaned up twice.
Bangladesh was roundly thrashed in the ODIs, pummelled in the only Test and only got through by the skin of their teeth in T20s, easily Zimbabwe’s worst format.
When critics weighed the chances of both sides before the series started, Bangladesh were supposed to win quite handsomely and this underestimation of Zimbabwe’s strengths played into the hands of the underdogs.
It is not to claim that it won’t be a skewed series against South Africa, who will handle the pace battery of Vitori, Christopher Mpofu, Tendai Chatara and Shingi Masakadza with ease; but an upset in one Test on a greenish tinged Harare Sports Club, a leveller of sides in a way a flat pitch cannot be, can’t be ruled out.
Of course, this can only happen if our neighbours do tour next year and in between, a few ‘A’ team tours are arranged. Going by the reports of poor finances by the mother union, a tour of that ‘A’ nature looks remote.
Zimbabwe Cricket’s financial woes are well documented. What started off as inane-sounding grumblings of job cuts and discontent on the various cricket forums that cropped up, has now been widely reported in the media as a major failure in ZC’s finances.
And then Ozias Bvute, apparently a fine administrator by reports, previously pilloried for leading the organization yet not knowing almost nothing about cricket, left.
All has gone downhill since and questions will be asked about the timing of his departure. Air Zimbabwe, the organisation he left Zimbabwe Cricket for, is reported to be doing much better these days.
One wishes him well, while suppressing irritation on how they failed to run Zimbabwe cricket better, so much so that a series has to be postponed, when coaches and players are clamouring for more games to improve and compete against the best.
It will be easy to suggest South Africa will have their way with the home team when they tour next. However, they might not have it as easy as Hansie Cronje’s team did when they last visited for a Test series in 2002.
In those two Tests, they amassed 1000 runs in two completed innings and Heath Streak and company couldn’t dismiss Jacques Kallis even once. All that stood between South Africa and the home side’s total crash to ignominy was the imperious Andy Flower.
Thus, with the immovable Flower’s heroics remaining selective and a thing of the past, it is not uncommon for people to tell magnificent tales of yesteryear; how John Traicos spun it a mile; how Guy Whittal denied Pakistan and New Zealand for a day and a half; how it is impossible to compare George Shaya with any present crop, even Peter Ndlovu.
Piffle. Players come and go, and players will be replaced. Soccer aside, this side is more talented, and has much more potential than any side that Zimbabwe has fielded in the past.
The side has made some impressive strides and credit must be given where it’s due. If comparisons were to be made, five players – Hamilton Masakadza, Taylor, Sean Williams, Shingi Masakadza, Brian Vitori and Tendai Chatara – would easily make it into the side of Andy Flower’s imperious “Reds”, as they were known.
Only Flower, Heath Streak, Neil Johnson and Murray Goodwin would walk into this one. Of the 10 Tests played since its readmission, Zimbabwe has won three of them and came close twice. The other eight victories before 2006 have come off 90 Tests. Decide which one is better.
That they play like clods at major world events like the ICC T20 World Cup and embarrass the nation so immensely sometimes only means they are one step closer to playing like demons.
In the last Test, it was the cricket gods, true blacksmith of talent and fortitude that turned up and savaged Pakistan’s top order. The signs were there two years ago when a heroic Brendan Taylor dared to chase an improbable 342 in the fourth innings against New Zealand in Bulawayo, and came within 34 runs of it.
In their last match, they inched even further to being called a true Test outfit, creating mayhem amongst Pakistani’s bunch of belligerent batsmen as they swung in chase of 264 on the last day.
The decision to move the said Test from Bulawayo, infuriating as it was, was also pragmatic, wise and admirable.
It was the right thing to do to save a series; but more crucially, why weren’t better and more unpopular decisions made a long time ago, such as trimming a bloated top of huge earners while keeping the coaches, ground staff and B league players – the very life blood of the sport – employed.
Why would executives ride lush Range Rovers in a hamstrung organisation while players go for months unpaid?
It will be nine months in July before Graeme Smith leads his team to Zimbabwe. Yet now, more than ever, was the ideal time to have a continuous run in Test matches for this team, and the board has let the country down. The team is on a good run and brimming with confidence, but left high and dry by Zimbabwe Cricket.
The scenes of elation as Chatara bowled like a man possessed and Tinashe Panyangara ran out the last man Rahat Ali, were highly emotional.
What should have been Zimbabwe’s finest moment after the second Test against Pakistan have ended in an anti-climax, as Brendan Taylor and his team ruminate on a happy outcome while contemplating nine months of Test inactivity.
ZCFOutkast
Guest
""Tbh, I am not interested in ECB or CSA’s financial issues but as an avid follower of Zim cricket and having emotionally invested in the team I would like – regardless of legalities – for them to be clear.....I am not asking ZC to answer to external bodies [but to] those with a positively passionate interest. I don’t judge by comparison; I believe, to move forward, we, as Zimbabweans, must be self-critical (of course, we defend each other too … but I cannot – by labelling it ‘fighting hypocrisy’ – dismiss our faults by highlighting the faults in others)."" These are very sound positions that you've taken betterdays, and you qualify them very well. Unfortunately, while you may not judge by comparison, taking it into consideration will show you why information will never be at your fingertips where anything in Zimbabwe is concerned. What I do know is that a lot of the financial information particularly pertaining to administrators, employees and sportspeople globally, is often the result of media speculation, not specifics, except for those who leaked those payslips and are still pursued by the law to this day. To expect Zimbabwe, ZC or any other institution to be religious where transparency is concerned is wishful. While every other country freely and comfortably visits Zimbabwe for sports purposes, some(England of course) opt to sulk, politicise the matter, and do everything in their power to ostracise them internationally. Not to mention that they were solely opposed to Zimbabwe achieving Test status in the first place. From cricket their position has spread to every other sporting discipline. All founded on falsehoods, and of course ungrateful contemptible ambassadors such as Henry and Andy plus many others who were meant to be so called self-critical proponents. There are greater things at play which they nurse via how they manage information. What I can state confidently is that Zimbabweans experience far more freedom and transparency in comparison to citizens of that Anglo-American axis. That is my opinion, but if you dig deeper you will unerringly arrive at the same conclusion. You should be concerning yourself as to why Cricinfo etc always quote the likes of Taylor, Jarvis, Sean, Heath, Grant, Gillespie, Coltart etc, as opposed to the likes of Elton, Hondo, Chawaguta, Makoni, Tikolo, Chirombe or even Peter Chingoka himself when considering sensitive subjects. Or declare if and reasons given if their efforts to solicit interviews were rebuffed. At the end of the day the issues which tickle your curiosity stem from such reports, whose sources are strangely one dimensional. Inevitably then, you may find that you get worked up based on one side of the story which has been proven over 95% of the time to be false. Ever wondered that maybe you have very little or nothing to be overly worried about?!
Johnno
Guest
Paul Strang.
betterdays
Guest
going back to your penultimate paragraph (which I missed in my earlier hurriedness), I do not feel that it does not matter what they have all earned, nor do I know whether or not it's nothing significant. I do know that the players were as entitled to the *agreed* 'on-top-of-basics' as admin staff were entitled to basics. I do not care about other cricket boards as I have not invested in them neither emotionally nor financially - I have done both with ZC. I do not weigh advantage by comparison - even if I understand the media's attention on Zimbabwe to be skewed - but I do know that in ZC has huge debt, unpaid players, cancelled tours, player discontent, fruitless negotiations with Dominus and bids to TAPP when (according to you) they stood to lose more than they gained. This is part of their track record every bit as much as a broadening of the player pool, beating a top 8 nation in a Test match, a continued and deepened production of talent ... so, as much as they have shown competence in areas they have shown a lack of it elsewhere. To dismiss these failures as "a loss of earnings beyond your control" is frivolous! Neither I, nor conant (if I can speak for him from what I know of him), are foreign attaches attempting to undermine the sovereignty of ZC - we are punters wanting answers! ... I am not asking ZC to answer to external bodies [unless they're trying to borrow money then as you say, "common sense ... 21st century"] but to publish (one can, in under a minute, find out the salary of David Collier or Andy Flower for example via a simple net search) salaries of those running ZC for the benefit of those with a positively passionate interest ... as I said, I don't judge by comparison; I believe, to move forward, we, as Zimbabweans, must be self-critical (of course, we defend each other too ... but I cannot - by labelling it 'fighting hypocrisy' - dismiss our faults by highlighting the faults in others)
Silver_Sovereign
Guest
Streak has a better average than Brett Lee and Jimmy Anderson and like Flower was the only good batsmen, Streak was the only decent bowler in the lineup and therefore top target for the best batsmen to take him down. Over 200 wickets at 28 definitely would make him possible for the current Aussie lineup.
betterdays
Guest
the word is 'skepticism' rather than 'doubt' ... maybe
betterdays
Guest
another good read hhm. I did not suppose that *you* needed to spend any time or money on those figures (from your post there is an inference you know them). It seems as enjoyable as the read was it is equally unhelpful in gaining any new information ... it is adding mayhem to the competing mythologies surrounding ZC. we know of dominus and hope they are dealt with appropriately but ZC is a public institution and I want people who care about the game while also care about grassroots development (and there is plenty of positives there) but if the top brass are paying themselves fat salaries while at the same time not paying players then where's the future... if they are not then hopefully we still have a future but until we know the attitude of the administrators by their openness ... then no matter how verbose individuals from either side of the fence are, I will be left with the same feeling all mythologies leave you with - doubt! anyway, hoping you continue to thrive in the wilderness. Loki himself is frozen out ... the gatekeeper stands firm I'm afraid, lol!
ZCFOutkast
Guest
The onus on investing time in obtaining them and presenting those figures rests with the accuser. Why waste time and money to build up a defence to silly accusations which at their core lack substance?! There are many avenues beside ZC, through whom you can corroborate provided information or obtain suppressed facts. Apart from ZC's HR office, ZIMRA(Inland Revenue Service) has all the salary information for the individuals you point to. If you follow the relevant internal or legal channels they will present you with those facts - even if it's delayed or not in electronic format lol! But ultimately you'll get it. Zimbabwe is not a failed state, neither are its people and its systems dysfunctional. They function and you can safely navigate them if you so wish. Similarly the Franchise system ensured that all foreign FC&List A players were employed by CEOs who run the franchises and contract the players independently of ZC, whose commitment was an agreed grant. Of all CEOs, Stanley Staddon & Kenyon Ziehl were the biggest culprits in terms of taking more than the necessary advantage of that system, so you can contact the Rhinos&Tuskers offices for those salary disclosures of the needless imports. All the more reason why rounds of the 4 day Logan Cup matches had to be cut to accommodate salaries for the ZC run T20, within that grant, after the Dominus T20 failed under the leadership of the contracted firm. Yes coming to that Stanbic Bank T20, Dominus the baby of the sly combination of Alistair Campbell & Dirk Viljoen was responsible for paying the players and admin staff associated with it. ZC's crime was to contribute/invest a sum of money plus Zimbabwean players largely paid by ZC, while they had no direct&legal hands-on oversight of the venture, and ultimately got nothing in return pretty much writing that off as development costs. Those two figures, together with their associates, are the people whom we should be asking questions as to how much they received in TV rights from Naspers owned DSTV Supersport, and how they spent it. ZC financials give us some insight, what of Dominus? One guy here refers to that well publicised yet unknown KPMG report which never left the room. Perhaps the US(CIA),UK&EU, and indeed Mugabe's government itself judging by some cables, need to enlist the services of whoever ZC&KPMG is making use of because not a single person was able to leak this so called damaging report! ChrisUK needs to apply common sense here. We're in the 21st century. Surely for Malcolm to speak in authority about this report - lest he be written off as a terminal and pathetic liar, he and indeed other executives, had to have had a copy and examined it personally. Unless of course he was only allowed that privilege under armed guard or some other form duress. Following which that part of his memory was erased to the point where he could not disclose a single note with figures to back it up. In any case Speed himself said "there was no compelling evidence of personal gain" in the report (which means you can all keep quiet about Bvute-Chingoka dipping their hands). Anyway, it's similar to the BCCI's concerns about Lorgat whom they wanted referred to the ICC's Ethics committee but that was ignored. Going back to the admin salaries, it doesn't matter how much ALL the admin staff have earned in comparison to the sacrifice they had to make, it remains contractually what they were entitled to and for the majority it's nothing significant. They like all the players have always received a retainer due to them, only the match fees and other earnings apart from the basic was outstanding for the cricketers. I doubt many of the admin staff are entitled to more than their basic. Of course as you say I should quote figures to my knowledge, which I would gladly do to follow ZC's lead. They have not felt compelled to reveal more information than is a basic requirement or voluntary example set by any other board, so why should they be selectively pushed to disclose information that others are not subjected to? While ZC&CSA are officially the only boards running at a loss, technically only the BCCI is liquid and running at a profit, and the rest are in the red. In fact, some like the BCB, WICB, SLCB etc have had major financial troubles involving player salaries. Ironically, questions asked of Zimbabwe have never been asked of them on a similar scale by the scathing media. Until then the advantage rests with the INNOCENT & FALSELY accused ZC. NB: Judging by you reference to the ZCF, it means that squad's exclusive domain is still up! Lol!! Once Loki freezes the gatekeeper, get Scotty to beam me up, but I won't hold my breath! Meanwhile no worm is nibbling into my gourd plant so I’ll be basking under my shade. On the contrary, the wilderness is kinder than I thought ...just tell me who Anti that putrid surgical tail is...
betterdays
Guest
just as an edit ... clearly we know the hosting of a tour for Zim is a good way to spend money (and this practice for Zim, does not abide by the rule: "you need to spend money to make money" - short term this is a simple loss). that's not the issue for me ... clarity of fixed and flexible costings would be very, very interesting one way or another - were board members being paid while players were not? how much? How did their salaries compare to, for example, what was owed to Taibu (when he apparently had the secretary against a wall demanding money owed him - in order to pay for the birth of his upcoming child)?
betterdays
Guest
again, if the TAPP offered funds were less than the cost of their expectations why were a "competent and bold" ZC administrations making a bid? Tbh, I am not interested in ECB or CSA's financial issues but as an avid follower of Zim cricket and having emotionally invested in the team I would like - regardless of legalities - for them to be clear (I've heard your/ZC's - assuming they're one and the same - arguments and its persuasiveness is diminished by the lack of financial reports and costings. Chingoka did vaguely allude to expenses in an interview not that long ago but how easy it would be to allay the fears of many a Zimbabwe cricket fanatic by simply publishing salaries to start with. [I will heed your advice and request a financial audit report from ZC in the meantime].
ChrisUK
Guest
The ICC have never released the KPMG report into corruption in Zimbabwe cricket, presumably you think that was because they were saying everything was wonderful. Your hagiography of the mass murderer Mugabe says it all.
ZCFOutkast
Guest
Ireland will never be a Full Member at Zimbabwe's expense. In fact, Ireland(or Canada) will never be made a Full Member alone. Either Afghanistan (or one of Kenya/Namibia/UAE) will be simultaneously voted in alongside them or before they are. Truth be told, all countries & boards, including the ECB&CA, are in some form puppets of the BCCI - far more than Zimbabwe is. You'd be lying to yourself if you convinced yourself otherwise.
ZCFOutkast
Guest
If you want any information on Zimbabwe cricket(financials, audit and corporate governance reports etc), feel free to contact ZC. Even the ICC will gladly disclose to you all the latest information they have which should be as up to date as mid 2012. Or better yet, why don't you ask the ECB&CA for what information they have and share with us their response then we can talk. There were specific prerequisites to Zimbabwe Cricket being recently granted US$1.5mil over 3 years, of the TAPP fund by the ICC EXECUTIVE BOARD, and if they didn't meet them they wouldn't have received the money (http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/586476.html). Mugabe's mere existence, and Cameron for that matter, or the nature of the relationship of the ZC President with him, as with ECB Chairperson & the Prime Minister, does not miraculously redefine the accuracy of those facts or the universally accepted standards by which they are measured. So what if Peter Chingoka is close to his Excellency President Mugabe - which is far from being the case though, but naturally you've been conveniently educated otherwise by the shamelessly selective media! He's probably had fewer meetings with Mugabe than your Queen herself has probably had with him over the years! Being banned or on travel lists(i.e. random bullying) by hypocritical figures & authorities with vastly superior gross human rights backgrounds, simply because economically they are in an advantageous and influential position to do so, hardly makes those judgements morally worth any more than the paper their printed on now does it. Last time I checked, the US is not part of that joke called the ICC(Hague). Neither are our fellow cricket Full Member countries India&Pakistan. If it had any semblance of relevance then I doubt if the White House&Downing Street would have ever had a single resident who lasted beyond half of their first single full term! Like you and I Mugabe will eventually die, only far more revered & immortalised globally than either of us, plus nearly all the leaders you respect. However, there's absolutely no reason for him to be at the Hague at all, or be concerned about its existence. None whatsoever. Those are the facts my friend!
betterdays
Guest
First of all conant, that was one of the easiest and most enjoyable reads I've had in a while...it's clear you love Zim cricket! it's a genuine flow of emotions without any serious political agenda - loved it!! hhm/ZCFOutkast ... I miss your contributions on ZCF (though I see you have managed to continue some of the mantras on cricinfo :), your argument here is, as always, very well told ... but unless you can quote figures [from your knowledge - as one of a number of "concerned parties" - of "their relatively clean audited financials" that " have been available for scrutiny"] then it'll be very difficult to make a clear judgement one way or another (and you know how one needs to assign blame!): "selflessly forgo salaries" - alright, I think I could forgo my salary for a month if I had been paying myself 20,000 a month for the other 11 months (and if could be called selfless for it - fantastic - especially by the very guys I had been failing to pay - the guys who are the front of my "bloated salary"). we need numbers or else we're liable to imagine the worst of whatever we're inclined to imagine. Well, as I said, you make your case eloquently but the lack of figures leaves me with the feeling that you are mentally/verbally flexing (of course, I know you can put a point across, I also know facts are insignificant in persuasion by and large) and I am just left feeling something of real substance is missing from the argument. What are the top administrators paying themselves? What did Bvute earn per year? How does it compare to what Moeen Ali, Rikki Clarke etc (along with the likes of Heath Streak, Manthorp...)? ...After that we can make a better assessment of your claims one way or another.
cantab
Guest
ha...fair enough.
Johnno
Guest
Call me cruel, but the ICC should give up on Zimbabwe, and focus on Ireland which has more more financial sustainability. But it seems ICC corruption at the voting table means Zimbabwe will always be an ICC puppet, beefed up in corruption, while Ireland or Canada get left behind.
Renegade
Guest
You have to be kidding if you think Flower was not a great batsman.
ChrisUK
Guest
Got to restore things like democracy, freedom of association and conscience, rule of law and right to life. First rule of an autocratic is to ensure everyone around you is also up to their neck in it. It's not going to be easy. I guess we can hope Morgan Tsvangirai is a true democrat - but we thought that of Mugabe 30 years ago.
ChrisUK
Guest
+1
ChrisUK
Guest
Um. Not sure Andy Flower is overly welcome, given he and Henry Olonga had to flee for their lives after their "death of democracy" protest.
Cantab
Guest
Crazy comments above about Andy Flower being average, 51 with the bat, only 1 of his tons coming off Bangladesh, wisdom cricketer of the year. Would easily be better than any batsmen in Australia ATM except of course Clarke.