David Coltart’s response to the attack on him by Zimbabwe Cricket Chairman

1) Wilson Manase was part of the ZC board that was led by Peter Chingoka and was vice chairman from 2011 until he took over as interim chairman from Chingoka in July last year, how can then be that you are suggesting that Manase can be disassociated from the decisions made by the previous ZC boards which he was part of? MANASE WAS VICE CHAIRMAN IN THE CHINGOKA BOARD AND TO THAT EXTENT SHARES RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DECISIONS IT MADE. HOWEVER DURING MY TIME AS MINISTER I ALWAYS FOUND MANASE A CONSTRUCTIVE FORCE WHO TRIED TO PERSUADE THE CHINGOKA BOARD TO ACT RESPONSIBLY.

2) Was Manase once your subordinate at Legal Resources Foundation, could this be the reason why you have gone all out to glorify him on social media? As someone who believes in democracy, Manase was outvoted for the ZC chairmanship, why dont you seem to respect that and if he had done such a wonderful job during his time as interim chairman how come he could not even get onto the ZC board? MANASE WAS NEVER MY SUBORDINATE IN THE LRF. HE WAS DIRECTOR OF THE HARARE LEGAL PROJECTS CENTRE WHEN I WAS DIRECTOR OF THE BULAWAYO LEGAL PROJECTS CENTRE. HE LATER BECAME NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE MOTHER BODY THE LEGAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANASE LOST THE VOTE. FROM AN OUTSIDERS POSITION IT SEEMED TO ME THAT HE HAD DONE A GOOD JOB IN TURNING ZIMBABWE CRICKET AROUND SO I WAS SURPRISED THAT HE LOST. I AM AFRAID THAT THE NEW ZIMBABWE CRICKET CONSTITUTION CAN HARDLY BE VIEWED AS THE EPITOME OF ‘DEMOCRACY’. EVER SINCE IT WAS CHANGED BY THE CHINGOKA’S BOARD IT HAS GENERALLY PREVENTED PEOPLE WHO ENJOY THE SUPPORT OF THE PLAYERS AND THE CRICKETING PUBLIC FROM SECURING HIGH OFFICE. THE REALITY IS THAT CRICKET IN ZIMBABWE IS NOW CONTROLLED BY A SMALL HARARE BASED CLIQUE WHO DO NOT HAVE THE NATIONAL INTERESTS OF THE GAME AT HEART. THE FACT THAT BULAWAYO HAS NOT HOSTED A TEST PLAYING NATION FOR WELL OVER A YEAR IS ADEQUATE TESTIMONY OF THAT FACT.

3) Is there any truth in that Manase took orders from you when he took over as ZC interim chairman, did you ever send him a lengthy email with a four point plan soon after he took over from Chingoka, the action plan starting with the sacking of Stephen Mangongo as national team coach just before the World Cup?THERE IS NO TRUTH IN THAT ALLEGATION. BEING FRIENDS WE EXCHANGED E MAILS BUT HE IS HIS OWN MAN AND AT NO TIME DID I EVER GIVE ORDERS, NOR DID HE EVER ACT ON ANY OTHER BASIS THAN WHAT HE VIEWED AS BEST FOR CRICKET. I THINK THE SACKING OF MANGONGO WAS THE RESULT OF THE UTTERLY DISASTROUS TOUR OF BANGLADESH LAST YEAR AND GROWING DISSENSION IN THE RANKS OF THE PLAYERS WHO THOROUGHLY DISLIKED HIS MANAGEMENT STYLE. MANY NATIONAL PLAYERS, OF ALL RACES, HAVE CONFIRMED THAT YO ME. MANGONGO’S SACKING THEREFORE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY VIEWS I MAY HAVE HAD, WHICH IN ANY EVENT WERE INFORMED BY THE SENTIMENTS EXPRESSED TO ME BY MANY OF THE PLAYERS.

4) If you were really sincere about fighting racism in cricket, how come you were silent when former national team player Mark Vermeulen called black people as Apes?I WAS NOT SILENT WHEN VERMEULEN MADE HIS DISGUSTING REMARKS. MY TWITTER FEED IS AMPLE EVIDENCE OF THAT ALONG WITH NEWSPAPER REPORTS AT THE TIME – SEE FOR EXAMPLE http://www.davidcoltart.com/…/top-cricket-player-vermeulen…/ . SO ANY ALLEGATION THAT I WAS SILENT IS AN ABSOLUTE FALSEHOOD.

5) You vigorously fought against England, Australia and New Zealand coming to Zimbabwe citing human rights abuses in the country, was denying the cricket loving public in Zimbabwe watching the top cricket playing nations in itself not a human right violation on your part? ONCE AGAIN THIS IS A SHAMEFUL FALSEHOOD. I HAVE NEVER TRIED TO PERSUADE ANY OF THESE COUNTRIES NOT TO COME TO OR PLAY AGAINST ZIMBABWE – IN FACT THE RECORD SHOWS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. IF YOU READ HENRY OLONGA’S BOOK YOU WILL SEE THAT IN 2003 I MET WITH THE ENGLISH TEAM TO PERSUADE THEM TO FULFILL THEIR OBLIGATION AND TO COME TO ZIMBABWE. DUNCAN FLETCHER’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY I THINK CONFIRMS THAT TOO. IF YOU NEED CONFIRMATION OF THIS STANCE SPEAK TO BOTH OLONGA AND FLOWER WHO WERE PRESENT IN THE MEETING WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE CULLINAN HOTEL IN CAPE TOWN IN FEBRUARY 2003. WHEN I BECAME MINISTER I ALMOST SINGLEHANDEDLY RESTORED CRICKETING TIES WITH BETWEEN ZIMBABWE, ON THE ONE HAND, AND AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND IRELAND, ON THE OTHER HAND. IN JUNE 2010 I TRAVELLED TO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND AND PERSUADED THEM TO RETORE CRICKETING TIES WITH ZIMBABWE WHICH RESULTED IN BOTH COUNTRIES TOURING ZIMBABWE AGAIN. IN AUGUST 2010 I FLEW TO BELFAST AND PERSUADED THE IRISH TEAM TO TOUR WHICH THEY DID SHORTLY AFTER. DURING THE SAME PERIOD I MET WITH BOTH THE SCOTTISH AND ENGLISH TO PERSUADE THEM TO COME BUT MY EFFORTS WERE BLOCKED BY WHITEHALL.

6) You accuse the ZC board of racism in sacking Andrew Waller as national team batting coach and post glowing batting statistics for batsman since Waller took over but have all those statistics contributed to Zimbabwe winning matches? SADLY THESE STATISTICS HAVE NOT CONTRIBUTED TOWARDS ZIMBABWE WINNING MATCHES BECAUSE IN MOST OF OUR LOSSES, SINCE WALLER STARTED, THE SIDE HAS BEEN LET DOWN BY VERY POOR BOWLING PERFORMANCES. IN FACT UNDER WALLER THE TEAM HAS SCORED SOME OF ITS HIGHEST TOTALS EVER WHICH ITS BOWLERS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DEFEND – HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES:
277 all out against South Africa IN WC,
286/6 against the UAE IN WC.
289 all out against the west Indies
326 all out against Ireland…
287 all out against India…
334/5 V PAKISTAN in the first ODI
268/7 in the second ODI while the third ODI was disrupted by rain
251 against India in the first ODI
304/3 in the first ODI against New Zealand in the first ODI
match winning total of 276/6 against Pakistan in September
I WOULD ARGUE THAT ZIMBABWE HASNT CONSISTENTLY SCORED BETTER THAN THIS IN A LONG TIME. BUT DURING THE SAME PERIOD OUR BOWLING HAS BEEN ABYSMAL. IT IS INEXPLICABLE THAT WALLER SHOULD BE FIRED BUT THE BOWLING COACH HONDO APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN KEPT ON.

7) Do you want to be consulted by ZC when they are firing and hiring coaches? OF COURSE NOT. HOWEVER I AM A ZIMBABWEAN CITIZEN WITH A LIFE LONG INTEREST IN THE GAME AND IT IS MY RIGHT TO SPEAK OUT WHEN I SEE THE GAME BEING DESTROYED.

8) You allege that ZC have fired Heath Streak and Grant Flower yet Waller is the one who told ZC that he did not need Streak as his bowling coach when he took over as national team coach in 2013, resulting in Streaks contract not being renewed when it expired in March 2013. Grant Flower also left for Pakistan where we understand the current ZC board has approached him to return home as batting coach but he has told them that he still has a contract with Pakistan until July 2016. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WALLER TOLD ZC IN PRIVATE OR WHAT THE CURRENT ZC BOARD IS DOING. YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY PRIVY TO CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION I AM NOT.

9) On Alistair Campbell, did he have a contract with ZC, what was his position and who was he reporting to at ZC? Are you aware that Campbell recently offered to work as ZC consultant for 100 days in a year and earning $10 000 per month plus fees paid for his children at private schools? Are you also aware that Campbell resigned because his son did not get selected for the national Under-19 team, should players get selected because they are sons of former national team captains? We understand that Campbell also tried without success to get ZC to appoint an inexperienced Gavin Ewing as national Under-19 coach.ONCE AGAIN YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY PRIVY TO INSIDE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION WHICH I AM NOT. I CANNOT CONFIRM OR DENY WHAT THE ZC BOARD APPEAR TO HAVE TOLD YOU.

10) Before you accuse the Mukuhlani led board of racism, are you aware of the following proposals for appointments that the same board you accuse of destroying: Trevor Gripper to be on the cricket committee and he turned down the offer, Ray Price to be on the cricket committee and to be the U19 specialist bowling coach and he turned down the offer, Whitestone Primary School were approached to give representation on the development committee and the offer was turned down, Ruzawi have declined to give ZC their coach for national Under-13, St Georges College declined for their school to serve on the development committee, Gregory Lamb was offered the appointed U-19 batting coach post and he has taken up the position.SEE ABOVE. I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT WHETHER WHAT THE ZC BOARD HAS TOLD YOU IS CORRECT OR NOT. IF IT IS CORRECT THEN THEY SHOULD MAKE THIS PUBLIC AND ALSO EXPLAIN WHY THEY HAVE SACKED WALLER. I SEE NO EVIDENCE BEFORE ME WHICH SUGGEST THAT WALLER WAS FIRED ON THE BASIS OF CRICKET. IT IS INCUMBENT ON ZC TO EXPLAIN ON WHAT CRICKETING GROUNDS WALLER WAS FIRED.
11) Are you aware that the Manase leadership paid Whatmore a full years salary in advance and the money was paid from Dubai which means the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority was prejudiced of tax in the process. The Mukuhlani executive is stuck with Whatmore despite the coach recently presiding over an embarrassing series loss to Afghanistan and they cannot fire him since he was already paid by the Manase executive. Is that a sign of good leadership from Manase? ONCE AGAIN YOU ALONE ARE PRIVY TO THESE ALLEGATIONS MADE PRESUMABLY BY THE ZC BOARD.