VOA
By Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye
Washington
10 March 2009
Former Zimbabwe Cricket Coach Kevin Curran said Tuesday that the country poses no health risk to foreign teams following the news that Canada’s team had canceled a scheduled tour later this month citing concerns about the cholera epidemic sweeping the country.
Other Western cricket teams have canceled tours of Zimbabwe citing Harare’s human rights record, most recently New Zealand, which also cited concerns about player safety.
Education and Sports Minister David Coltart of the Movement for Democratic Change formation led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has been trying to encourage Western teams to tour Zimbabwe now that a new government is in place.
Former Zimbabwean coach Curran told reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the cancellation is a blow for the Canadian as well as the Zimbabwean squads as both need the international exposure ahead of the World Cup.