While the World Cup final was playing out to its thrilling finish and farcical result, a low-key tour of Europe was finishing up by one of the nations adversely impacted by having a smaller World Cup: Zimbabwe won their final match of the tour to draw their T20 series against Ireland in Belfast.
That result was probably the highlight of an underwhelming tour for Zimbabwe. Preceding it had been two ODI series clean-sweep losses to the Netherlands and Ireland and a drawn T20 series in the Netherlands.
The news had come through just a few days earlier that the women’s tour of the same nations was being cancelled for financial reasons. Missing the World Cup was always going to hurt Zimbabwe and other smaller nations, but their issues go well beyond that.
The exposure, prize money and maybe sponsorship money that would have come from a World Cup appearance may have allowed the women’s tour to proceed, but it wouldn’t have halted the slide of Zimbabwean cricket. That tour would have included vital match practice for all three nations ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup in early 2020 and the qualifying tournament next month in Scotland.
Zimbabwe’s crisis has been building for a long time, lowlighted by well-publicised hiatus from Tests between 2005 and 2011, and while Zimbabwe Cricket has undergone a clean-out of corrupt officials, they may have just been replaced by equally corrupt officials. There is little money in the game in Zimbabwe, and what there appears to be is squandered and is not reaching where it is needed. There are regular reports of players not being paid and there has not been a first-class competition held since 2016-17, with none anticipated for the 2019-20 season.
Zimbabwe Cricket is now under the hold of the government’s Sports and Recreational Commission (SRC). The SRC dismissed the entire ZC board in June, presumably as part of the response for failing to qualify for the World Cup. There are reports that at the next ICC meeting there may be a vote on suspending the nation due to the combination of financial mismanagement and breaching ICC rules by having such government interference in cricket.
The clearing out that occurred a few years ago was in part supposed to remove cricket from what was then the Robert Mugabe regime. Coming under the SRC has not aided the game at all. A suspension at this stage may be premature but not out of the question.
How much on-field results are driven by the disaster off-field is questionable, but such levels of dysfunction must have an impact. Zimbabwe last won a Test in November 2018 in Bangladesh, an ODI against a Test nation in March 2018 against Ireland, and a top-eight nation in any format in January 2018 against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh. That last Test win against a top-eight nation was against Pakistan back in 2013. This is a nation that gained Test status way back in 1992, although they did have that hiatus.
The question that arises is: how can global cricket assist Zimbabwean cricket while not aiding the government? The first things may be for the ICC to take over player payments directly and reduce funding to the administration by the same amount until ZC can show it is willing and able to put funding into the sport.
Some might argue that the nation should be allowed to fall by the wayside. There are only 12 full members and two of them are new. Can the game afford to drop a country?
Zimbabwe faces an existential crisis. If the international game is not to shrink, the likes of India, Australia and England have to act. Judging by the diminished World Cup and the decision not to include all nations in the World Test Championship the wealthy nations seem prepared to let the game lose a full member.
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
Cricket in Zim; Rest in Peace.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
There is no doubt the nations problems are much broader than cricket, but to lose one of very few full member nations on the altar of Indian and Australian self-interest would likely be the start of something much more drastic down the track. The ICC should be looking to find ways to aid cricket, without the money filtering to government. That may mean direct funding of some areas that ZC has left to rot. More assistance to leading Associates would also be welcome, absolutely. Scotland and the Netherlands are both around Zimbabwe level on field, and obviously more stable as nations.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
UPDATE: The ICC has suspended Zimbabwe, and all payment to ZC, government interference in cricket. This means players are unlikley to be paid. It is not clear to me how far back they are owed but it would seem at least until the WC qualifiers. It is also unlikely they will be allowed to compete at ICC tournaments, including both mens and womens T20 qualifiers. Although this is unceratin, as the also suspended Nepal are allowed to compete.
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
Zin really needed to qualify for the 2019 WC to give their ailing cricket some boost. They came within a whisker of realizing their goal but at the end fell just short.
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
The Decline of Zim and Kenya cricket over the last two decades has been a sad story.
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
I think ICC is going to let Zim wither.
Neel
Roar Guru
Zimbabwe just keep falling further and further down. Sad to see.
Winnie the Pooh (Emperor of China)
Guest
The Zimbabwe we have today is not the cricket loving Rhodesia that got that nation into test match cricket status in the first place. It is a nation that needs to worry about putting food on the table, not cricket. It is only a nation state in name only. ICC should look at nations like Scotland, Nepal even PNG before wasting another penny on Zim.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
South Africa appear to have issues but aren’t really any threat of disappearing from the game. The West Indies relationship with T20 is problematic. The IPL runs in the middle of their traditional home season, meaning they have played without their best players available. With the T20 Worlds having more nations than the World Cup, a stand-alone Carribean nation could almost qualify for T20. Going stand-alone might become an attractive option should West Indies miss a World Cup – remembering they were not automatic qualifiers this time. But T20 also raises the profile, the CPL in particular, in an area that already losing the battle for players and support to American sports and Association Football.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Good question, which I had to look up. Across the 2015-2023 rights cycle, Zimbabwe were expected to recive around USD75-80m from the ICC. Afghanistan and Ireland less, at USD50-55m. India USD255-260m. At the time Ireland and Afghanistan had not become Test nations, although both were already deemed very likely to do so. Of course the big boards contribute more to the ICC as well, the World Cup would make a lot less money if India weren't there.
Brian
Guest
Zimbabwe already gone. So too are Kenya. ICC needs to avoid losing South Africa and the West Indies via Kolpak and T20 leagues.
Paul
Roar Guru
"The first things may be for the ICC to take over player payments directly and reduce funding to the administration by the same amount until ZC can show it is willing and able to put funding into the sport." Just how much is Zimbabwe funded by the ICC Timmuh? I was under the impression it was each country for itself. I'm also wondering at what point Zimbabwe's position as a full member become untenable? Their cricket has regressed, not improved in recent years and they would be cannon fodder to the other teams making up the Test World Championship. The ICC needs to work closely with the appropriate government & cricket officials in Zimbabwe to foster the game, but above all, they need to make a reasoned assessment about the short and long term prospects for top line cricket. If they think there's a chance Zimbabwe can return to it's glory days, by all means support that, but if that's going to take more than say 5 years, perhaps they need to drop out as a recognized Test playing nation.