Zimbabwean Cricket- At the crossroads? - World A-Team Cricket Forum

Paoli · #1 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005, 12:36 PM

New Plymouth, a town in the west of New Zealand's North Island isn't one known for cricket. However, the 1992 World Cup brought about one of New Plymouth's defining moments. Andy Flower, a 24 year old wide-eyed chap from Harare in Zimbabwe, was making his international debut against Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe batted first and Andy Flower, who was also taking on the added responsibility of wicketkeeping, opened the innings. Flower played one of the most composed innings seen by one on debut, patiently carving out his maiden ODI century in 152 balls. Even more remarkable, Flower had managed to carry his bat.

Zimbabwe went on to lose the game narrowly. Yet it proved to the rest of the world that Zimbabwe was here to play Cricket. Later that year, Zimbabwe was given full international member status by the ICC, and were ready to start playing Test Cricket. "When we were given Test status in 1992, I was very surprised. I didn't think we should have been given it"1, says Flower. "Looking back now, I am thankful that we were given the opportunity to play against the best in the world. I did not think our domestic cricket was strong enough to sustain the standard required over a long period of time"2. The domestic cricket circuit in Zimbabwe, whilst not the strongest in the world, could certainly compete with others around it. The touring Englishmen of 1996 know all to well about the strength the Zimbabwean domestic circuit possessed; they were convincingly defeated by Mashonaland in a First-Class tour match prior to the first test match.

It took two years for Zimbabwe to record their first test match victory - substantially shorter than the wait Bangladesh had to endure to win their first test match. It came against Pakistan in Harare in February 1995. Grant Flower opened the innings and the test match, and made his overall test best of 201 not out. Andy Flower also batted superbly, making his second test century; a brilliant 156, in substantially more stylish fashion than Grant's workmanlike 201. Zimbabwe declared on 544-4.

The first wicket in Pakistan's innings was the sublime Saeed Anwar, caught behind off a raw, quick black teenager named Henry Olonga. Olonga, as we know, went on to play a major part in Zimbabwean cricket history. Pakistan were bowled out for 322, with one of Zimbabwe's finest cricketers, Heath Streak, taking 6-90. Pakistan were forced to follow on, and were bowled out for 158, handing Zimbabwe an innings victory.

Although Zimbabwe continued to plug away in the shorter form of the game, they had to wait until 1998 for their second Test win. The victory was partly due to Henry Olonga, who had now matured into a genuinely frightening pace bowler, winning the Man of the Match award. 2 months later, Zimbabwe toured Pakistan. This was generally accepted before the tour as Zimbabwe's toughest; if having to put up with sub-continental conditions is a daunting task for the most successful cricketing nations, the task for a nation with only two test victories is doubled. Yet, Zimbabwe managed to win the first test match, and ultimately take out the series 1-0, to record an extremely successful sub-continental tour. The next four years yielded more runs for Andy Flower, and he reached the epitome of that height in 2001, where he enjoyed a brief spell at No.1 in the PwC batsman rankings. That same four years also granted Zimbabwe four test victories, including three against Bangladesh.

In 2001, the most controversial chapter in Zimbabwean cricket began. The subject of this controversy was the issue of race. After much deliberation, the ZCU decided that they would invest in the services of a scientist to help fix the perceived racial problem in cricket. They believed that there weren't enough black players playing to keep cricket sustainable in the long term in Zimbabwe. By the time the inquiry was finished, Zimbabwe were left with a mission statement. "The ZCU will try and promote cricket throughout high density areas, and allow for the promotion of black players into the National team. However, this should not affect Zimbabwe's on-field performances in any way".

Detractors argue that the ZCU had now introduced a secret quota of three black players in any Zimbabwean team. More and more white players became disillusioned with the state of affairs, and several promising players, including Greg Lamb, Guy Croxford and Scott Brant left the country. Further to that, several established players, such as Andy Whittall, Andrew Huckle and Dirk Viljoen left the country to further their cricketing careers elsewhere.

The 2003 World Cup brought more attention to Zimbabwe than the actual tournament. The defining moment was when two key players, Andy Flower and Henry Olonga, made a statement in which they outlined the "death of democracy in Zimbabwe"3.

Now, Zimbabwe's problems, both in cricket and in the bigger picture, had been so courageously revealed by two in the inner sanctum. A ZCU official kicked Henry Olonga off the team bus before a match in Bulawayo, and didn't allow Olonga to play again that tournament, until he was required against Kenya- because he was one of only eleven fit players in the squad. Andy Flower was dropped from the national side only to be reinstated when all players threatened to strike if their star run-scorer was stood down. Brian Murphy, the man who said he wouldn't play, played only twice again for Zimbabwe.

As the World Cup ended, Flower and Olonga knew they had to leave Zimbabwe. Flower and Olonga announced their retirements simultaneously. Flower retired with "no regrets about my actions during the tournament". "In Fact, the only regret I do have is being run out against New Zealand the other day"4, he said. However, Olonga, who had a basic idea that he would quit, retired after receiving several threatening e-mails."My dad got a warning and he told me don't come back."5 .Flower and Olonga then flew to Britain, bringing down the curtain on succesful careers. Along with those two and Brian Murphy, Guy Whitall also quit the national side.

2004, however, was undoubtedly Zimbabwe cricket's biggest year. In April 2004, Heath Streak was removed from his position as captain of the national side. At this time, Streak had only just led Zimbabwe to a 1-0 victory against Bangladesh in the then recent test series, which had been followed by a 2-1 win in the ODI series.

Within a couple of weeks, this event had escalated into a full scale crisis. 15 of the nation’s leading white players had quit over what they alleged was racism. They believed that white players were trying to be "fast-tracked" out of Zimbabwe. The white rebels, led by Heath Streak, Grant Flower, Ray Price and Sean Ervine, wanted assurances about selection. They wanted to know that they were being selected on pure merit, and that race wasn't a contributing factor. It was alleged that the ZCU sacked these players; yet, when the ZCU spoke up, they denied any involvement and maintained that Zimbabwe Cricket held a "revolving door policy"6. The ICC decided that Zimbabwe wouldn't play any more tests in 2004, following the on-off-on ODI tour that for Australia in May 2004.

The ICC held an inquiry into racism, yet found that it was non-existent in Zimbabwean Cricket. It wasn't until early 2005, that an impartial committee was formed to investigate the decision. Spontaneously, Andy Blignaut left Tasmania and signed up with Zimbabwe Cricket. Then, Heath Streak abandoned his protest, and 10 other lads, some without a future, kissed and made up with Zimbabwe Cricket by signing a contract. Streak fell back on everything he had stood up for, and came back as just a regular squad member. After the tour of South Africa, three batsmen, Craig Wishart, Trevor Gripper and Stuart Carlisle, rejoined Zimbabwe's ranks, saying that it was time to play cricket again.

Throughout this troubled period in Zimbawean cricketing history, tourists from several countries have objected to touring Zimbabwe on moral grounds. However,the ICC maintain that moral grounds is not a justifiable excuse for boycotting a tour. However, several high profile cricketers have boycotted Zimbabwe, including Stuart MacGill and Stephen Harmison, although their teams have been forced to go to Zimbabwe. Yet, the ICC say that they are looking into the test status of Zimbabwe. However, banning Zimbabwe from international cricket would only further their problems. It would block off any communication this nation has to the outside world. Cricket, whilst not the lifeblood of Zimbabwe, is its only outpost of communication to anybody. The ICC must now decide which avenue that they will take. Will they allow Zimbabwe to participate in their full international fixtures without question, or will they take a South Africa-style apartheid stance and ban them from the game?

Sources: 1 and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-E-mail from ZCU communications manager Lovemore Banda

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