Zimbabwe cricket in crisis
The Zimbabwe Cricket Union seems happy to rid itself of 13 leading players, all of them white. The dispute triggered by Heath Streak played into the hands of those who want Zimbabwe to be pure black and Shona.
Western countries like Australia have to take special care of ethnic minorities and pander to their interests. Minorities in Zimbabwe have few rights and no future.
It’s pretty clear now that the players who signed a declaration in support of Heath Streak will no longer be selected unless they cave in to the ZCU.
I support Heath Streak’s actions. He’s an honorable man who I respect enormously, but I think the players collectively made a tactical mistake by signing that document.
The absence of black signatories left them open to accusations and attack. Rational people know the majority of black cricketers support the demands made, but lacked confidence to declare that view in public for various reasons, including intimidation.
For others it created opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have had.
The white players should have worked behind the scenes instead of taking such a public position. Their threats should have been ambiguous.
It’s interesting that only two white players were selected in the one-day squad. One of them, Brendon Taylor, may actually keep wicket if Taibu decides to bowl. He impressed in lead-up matches for the under 19 World Cup, but failed in Bangladesh.
Greg Strydom, who scored a century in each innings of the latest Logan Cup match, wasn’t selected.
I feel sorry for the 13, who may now become cricketing nomads. The www.cricinfo.com web site quoted one of them:
“It’s so sad that it has come to this. I was just remembering when I was 12 or 13, watching a Test match from the nets at HSC (Harare Sports Club) playing out our own Test and looking at the players on the field, wishing, hoping that one day I would have the honor of playing for my country.
“My Test cap sits at home now, whether I will have the pleasure of donning it once again is uncertain. Why can’t I just play cricket and fulfil a life-long dream of one day walking off the field for the last time while the sun goes down at Sports Club, take my cap off and leave because it’s my time? Then sit in the dressing-room and say farewell to all my friends who too have fought for the honor to wear and fight under the baggy green. What a nightmare this is for all of us.”
I have no inside knowledge, but I think that player is probably Ray Price. That guy would bleed for his country and cricket. He’s also arguably the best left-arm orthodox spinner in the world.
Hopefully commonsense will prevail and some consenus might be reached. It appears though that the ZCU is happy with this purge and will accept thrashings as the short-term consequence.
They probably take heart from the fact that Bangladesh is equally inadequate.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
