Cricket In Zimbabwe On A Knife Edge

www.overtimeonline.co.uk

9 February 2011

His eyes betray him.  There is nothing there.  No emotion at all.  Yet the senator talks passion, seemingly oblivious of his all-too familiar bête noir, Robert Mugabe, glaring angrily down at him from the cover of a book.

The book sits awkwardly, as if out of place, alongside the hundreds of others that make the shelves bow from the weight.  It seems fitting that the biography of the man who ordered the senator’s failed assassination attempt four years earlier, is at odds with the thick leather-bound volumes that surround it.  His long bony fingers masterfully coax his well-worn phone into pirouetting on the arm of the mahogany sofa.  Behind him there is a window overlooking a large tree-filled garden that is protected by a concrete wall decorated with razor wire.  The inauspicious rasping of a grey-crested lourie, known for its cry as the go-away bird, cuts straight through the hot, still air.

“In the last six years we have lost so much,” says David Coltart, co-founder of the MDC, senator, and secretary of state for sport in Zimbabwe.  “We have lost talent in the form of Andy Flower and the likes which is sad, but more significantly, the up-and-coming younger players have been deprived of something they will never be able to get back.  The opportunity to be mentored by such experienced senior players.”

A glance at the hierarchy within Zimbabwe Cricket, the governing body of the sport in the country, immediately quells the fallacy that cricket and politics cannot be mixed.  They are inexorably linked in a nation where corruption, brutality and general mismanagement epitomises the power base of a state still run by the despotic Mugabe.  Not only is the tyrant a patron of Zimbabwe Cricket, but the chairman, Peter Chingoka and chief executive, Ozias Bvute, are political heavyweights.  And it is highly improbable that their appointments are coincidental to their party loyalties.  It was Bvute’s misguided hard-nosed policy on ‘racial integration’ that led to the exodus of 15 white players in the rebellion of 2004.

“It can be compared to Manchester United’s plane crash,” continues Mr Coltart.  “A large majority of the team was wiped out in an instant and suddenly there was a very young core of inexperienced players thrown in at the deep end.  The effects are still reverberating within the squad and this was highlighted by the recent series in Bangladesh.  I think you could argue that our players have a much stronger physical presence and greater ability, but mentally, they were just not up to the task and I feel that a lot of mental strength comes from mixing old and new.”

Stuck in Limbo

C.L.R James persuasively illustrated in Beyond a Boundary that the style of cricket played by a team often reflected the mood of the country.  Zimbabwe has been no exception to this notion in recent years.  It has suffered some heavy loses and the metaphorical blood spilt on the pitch draws parallels with the actual bloodshed on the streets. Wins over Sri Lanka and India last year –albeit against a heavily diluted opposition in both instances – have given rise to some optimism.  But crushing defeats at the hands of South Africa and Bangladesh have served as sobering reminders of the squad’s fallibility and they are team stuck in limbo.  Too much class for the associate teams; but struggling to mix it with the bigger guns.

Nonetheless, it seems, on the face of it, that cricket in the politically torn country is at least beginning to find its feet again.  Bvute has started to show signs of promise by saying and doing the right things on the international stage.  He is quick witted, smart and persuasive.  An asset for any organisation should he choose to execute his duties in the honourable fashion.  He has pushed Chingoka to the peripherals which can only be a good thing.  Even Olonga, who absolutely berates him in his autobiography, Blood Sweat and Treason, has softened his stance on Bvute’s character.

“He was probably forced into executing such a radical change in the side,” he said to me recently.  “At least the administration has finally come to its senses and stopped killing the goose that lays the golden egg.”

The appointment of Brian Lara as a batting advisor appears to be nothing short of a miracle and some of the ‘rebel’ cricketers have returned to fulfil various administrative functions.  The recent franchising of the provincial sides has given first-class cricket a much-needed boost, enticing names such as Jason Gillespie and Allan Donald into coaching roles.

Indeed, it is all a little perplexing that such a revival in the fortunes of the sport has occurred at all and it is in stark contrast to the rest of the beleaguered country which continues to languish in abject poverty.  Kingsley Went, former Manicaland and first-class player, explained to me what he believed kick-started the transition.

“The ICC gave Zimbabwe Cricket about $10 million as a non-repayable grant,” he said.  “As far as I’m concerned it’s an investment.  The ICC hope the money will enable the structures to be sufficiently supported and help Zimbabwe regain their test status.  Then they will easily recoup it through television rights.”

Money, money, money

The ICC duly obliged, and as if endorsing his foresight, a few days later, announced that Bangladesh would be visiting Zimbabwe midway through 2011 to play a test match in Harare.  So, as is so often the case, money seems to be doing the talking and lubricating the rusty cogs of progression that have been lying idle for so long.  But there has to be some reservations about the money running out.

“What you have got to understand is that our cricketing infrastructure is minimal and I suspect our overheads are nothing like the ECB’s for example,” explains Mr Coltart.  “There has been press speculation that Gillespie is being paid $20 000 a month and I can assure you, unequivocally, that it is nothing like that much. For him and Donald, these are relatively high-profile coaching jobs and can be useful stepping stones to bigger things.  As for Brian Lara, it is more of a symbolic thing than anything else and don’t believe the rumours that abound about what he is getting paid either.”

It makes sense.  And sure enough, Donald has already moved to greener pastures.  But once immersed in the murky world of politics, even a man of such integrity – a man who helped Olonga and Flower draft their statement to the press during the black-armband protest and a man who has campaigned so tirelessly against brutal human-rights abuses – can be prone to painting over the cracks with a glossy brush.  It is, after all, his job.  And by his own admission, he is not entirely au fait with the financial affairs within Zimbabwe Cricket.  Sadly, there are some indications that the money has already dried up.  A recent conversation with Tino Mawoyo, opening batsman for the Manicaland Mountaineers and named in the squad traveling to the imminent World Cup, revealed the potential extent of the financial woes.

“I am still owed my match fees from a game I played two months ago,” he said.  “As for bonuses, well no-one has seen one for about a year.  Forget about it, even if you score century after century, nothing comes your way.  Manicaland is a club that is in trouble.  But it is not just us.  I don’t want to move, but the lucrative overseas contracts are looking more appealing daily.”

Further bloodshed inevitable

If salaries are not being paid and greater fiscal incentives continue to be offered elsewhere, the inevitable drain of talent will ensure that the national side will never realise its true potential.  The World Cup will inject some short-term cash into the system, but that will not sustain the structures indefinitely.  Along with the rest of the country, the key to long-term success depends rather heavily on the departure of a certain dictator.  Investment would be forthcoming and relationships could be rebuilt.  There will be a small window of opportunity if elections do occur later this year, but gauging the current political mood and historical trends, it seems unlikely that the leadership will be conceded easily and further bloodshed is inevitable.  It makes one wonder why cricket should matter at all given the on-going humanitarian crisis.

“Because it can be a fantastic tool in facilitating racial harmony,” says Mr Coltart.  “It really does bring people of differing backgrounds together and if we can ensure that  cricket is played in every school in the country, then, it can only bode well for the future of this country.”

I thank the senator for his time and see myself out of his house.  Just around the corner, a sparkling new Mercedes Benz with tinted windows and a distinct lack of number plates lurks ominously.  It is almost certainly a government official of sorts and probably not someone I would care to meet.  The accelerator is pushed to the floor and the 20-year old Nissan skips over the potholes leaving the brand-new Mercedes in a cloud of dust to carefully negotiate the treacherous road.