#ZCBOARD MUST GO

[sam_ahm]

Here’s the reality. It’s a week into the deadline and everybody is pleading and begging SRC and Coventry and Mlotshwa to show humanity and love and kindness and let cricket live.
With a week to go EVERYBODY will be begging and pleading and threatening ZC to step down. They will do a 180. A part of me wants to see that 11th hour about face.

Which part about - "Reinstate elected ZC board unconditionally" did you not understand???

We've been through this plenty times in soccer with CAf and FIFA. Not even Mukuhlani has power to compromise or succumb to SRC now! ICC only recognises elected officials. None outside of those that were elected can be recognised by ICC. No player, or fan, or sponsors etc can can bring about an "about face", not even the elected administrators themselves.

The only thing SRC can do is recognise the ZC Board once again. And once they are official again, for them to immediately resign OFFICIALLY. But who would be constitutionally recognised to oversee those elections in a vacuum? What does the ZC Consitution and ICC Full Members requirements say? Does it even allow for such a situation to exist? I would imagine that just like CAF and FIFA, ICC would be empowered to oversee that election, but clearly they have refused!!!

Are we even thinking straight here??? ICC have a copy of the ZC Constitution which obviously has certain requirements. Can you imagine the ramifications of electing a President and MPs then later, everyone having to resign to fresh elections can take place? Within months having to redo an election whose outcome was meant to last 4-5 years???

I keep on bumping in the most senseless and unworkable expections which threaten to set precedents which the ICC would never want to exist in their history or future.

You are expecting the impossible!

I read rubbish somewhere, whetehr it was from Coventry or SRC, that ICC were invited to add whomever and however many people they wanted to be part of the interim board.. Are DEB and VH really part of all this cheap and mindless strategies. I'm pretty sure the ICC Committee must have spent the entire meeting just laughing at that part alone. No Full Member would ever stomach that possibility in their own board.

This anti-ZC thing is totally ridiculous. I'm not saying a single thing more on the subject. This is very stupid!

Very good post encore. Sensible one to be honest. ICC has taken a decision, as Hamilton said, doesn't matter right or wrong, but for the time being needs to be respected.

[TapsC]

Those leaked texts were bad. Very bad. I want to know what happened on that tour. Watching BT play a lot of those games he didnt seem to care at all. Not 1 bit.

I think we just might need to start again. From scratch. Missing the t20 world cup might be good for us because some guys are just holding on for that last paycheck.

I dont think Hami is alone in this. I will admit that us Southern Africans will have a lot to say behind people's backs unlike West Africans for example. I am sure on that plane ride back a lot was being said when BT and Raza were in the UK.

Also who exactly advised them to go the ICC meeting. They need to come clean there.

We are in trouble guys. If ZC wins this fight BT and Raza are gone. I am hoping there is a compromise so at least Mlotshwa can make sure they dont pay for this. BT signed a 4 year contract I think. Thet can technically refuse to give him a NOC for the next 2 years. He would be done. These guys are vindictive like that.

I'm thinking one of two things happened.

1) Some of the players said we need to go plead the players case and no one took charge, So Raza being the active member he is took that charge and asked BT for help because of his experience.

2) The players were invited and Hammy chose not to go, so the other players felt that that cannot happen and that the players need to have a say, so decided to send two players to speak on their behalf. Unfortunately this is where a divide came in.

What i am finding very distressing is how all the fingers seem to be pointed at BT and the white guys, yet they have nothing to answer for. They seem to be blamed for leadership and the failure of the recent tours and Hammy gets away with it. The stats of those 9 games speak for themselves.

BT scored 243 runs
Ervine scored 467
Williams scored 272
Raza scored 165 (played 8 games)

Hammy scored 67

Did not include PJ as he did not play in all of the games. Only included those being discussed and who played in all 9 games.

You are right they did try. I was talking more about body language. Something was off. I could see it. There was no fight in a lot of guys. I was using BT as an example because the streams werent world class so the guy you saw the most was the keeper. We lost almost every 50/50 scenario on that tour. The usual desire wasnt there

Also another point I was thinking about was Raza talking about squad selection. That was almost a full strength squad. Who can we say was missing there? Thats why I was personally concerned by those results.

[sloandog]

This horrible silence is killing me.
Really want to know where we stand on this, and what the SRC are thinking of doing now they face expulsion.
Any word or insight at all?

[zimbos_05]

You are right they did try. I was talking more about body language. Something was off. I could see it. There was no fight in a lot of guys. I was using BT as an example because the streams werent world class so the guy you saw the most was the keeper. We lost almost every 50/50 scenario on that tour. The usual desire wasnt there

Also another point I was thinking about was Raza talking about squad selection. That was almost a full strength squad. Who can we say was missing there? Thats why I was personally concerned by those results.

Off the top of my head, Chakabva and Murray. The other guys might know, but if I'm not mistaken Like Longwe has been in really good form and I think Mavuta was away in England too. Others who should have been included at least would be Musakanda and Kamu. It wasn't our best squad by a long shot.

The problem is, examples of bad tend to be white players are getting picked on. No one addresses Hammys form or Elton or Mutumbami. Body language is bound to be off when you've been let down by your administration for so long, and your fellow teammates.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

It's a tough situation. You can understand why Masakadza etc want the old board reinstated, it solves the problem of today but doesn't address the problem of tomorrow. It's short term thinking.

But all throughout I have tended to agree with Googly's assessment of the situation - what is there that's worth saving?

It's probably better to just see this through now. Flush out everyone who doesn't have the game's best interests at heart (that'll be obvious once the money is gone), and start over with the people who do.

The only sticking point in this for me is the economy. It's not the 1970s anymore where a small club and provincial scene can thrive because of the backing of social clubs and country clubs. When it all falls apart, who exactly will be able to continue playing cricket for fun (because they'll need to have a full time job to pay the bills). Are there 200 club level cricketers (~15 clubs) in Zimbabwe who can keep it going?

If there's not then it goes back to the point above, what is there worth saving? If we can't produce 200 men willing to play the game for the love of it then we aren't worth being a Test playing country are we.

[encore]

Also idiotic and naive was Raza and Taylor going to the ICC meeting. Whoever thought that was a bright idea to send them there (or for themselves to go there) must be out of their minds. Massively compromised any case the SRC and the interim board would have had.

Also who exactly advised them to go the ICC meeting. They need to come clean there.

I suppose many will still argue that Raza is bright either way . Anyway, just stepping in to share my "guess". EVERY ominous moment in the history of Zimbabwe Cricket, and I mean EVERY, has had the name of 'that Senator' written all over it:
1.Petitioning England and ECB boycott of touring Zimbabwe. Which added to the excuses they needed to do what eg AUS, SA & NZ would not.
2.Pushing for England not to play in the 2003 CWC. Which hurt England ECB financially and cricketwise.
3.Plotting and orchestrating the black arm-band, and aggressively pushing for the token inclusion of Olonga in order to legitimise it, as opposed to other willing players. Which backfired.
4.Fighting hard to work against ICC agreeing to stop Tests only for Zimbabwe, then later frustrating plans to get back to playing Tests. Which failed.
5.Engineering several past SRC interventions. Which made ZC smarter, more resolute and better prepared.
6.Blocking MCC reunion with ZC, despite Andy Flower himself encouraging it. Which was evil and unnecessary.
7.Being needlessly very vocal against Makoni. Which had the unintended consequence of driving a wedge between Butcher, Streak, Grant, Houghton, Campbell etc, due to old wounds among them.
8.So, most likely this latest death knell as well.

Personal vendettas left, right and centre. Zero lessons learnt!

ICC has taken a decision, as Hamilton said, doesn't matter right or wrong, but for the time being needs to be respected.

I've personally stopped entertaining the subject. It's pretty clear that a number of guys here don't care about Zimbabwe dying and lots of players now and in the long-term future being severely affected as a result. All as long as Mukuhlani(not Chingoka, Bvute, Mukondiwa etc) - who already has an MP salary to fall back on for the next coming years - is broke and suffering.

For your benefit read this: https://zimmorningpost.com/zanu-pf-mp-i ... -zimbabwe/

Zanu PF MP in hot soup for lobbying for sanctions against Zimbabwe

Togarepi told Zim Morning Post that whether SRC’s actions amounted to government interference was not his place to debate but as a Zanu PF MP Mukuhlani has gone against everything that the ruling party represents.

Togarepi added Zanu PF MPs were mooting to move a motion lobbying to have any Zimbabwean who agitates for sanctions in any capacity to be stripped of their citizenship.

Moral of the story, all players on the other side are emotional and fail to deal with basic facts. Inability of a whole Chief Whip to expressly deny government interference; inability to recognise that Party has benefitted immensely from ICC-ZC US dollars over the years which opposition will beat party with, inability to recognise that Government already guaranteed ZC-ICC debt, so they will still be liable for it even if Zimbawe is ejected, and ICC will most likely use foreign courts to attach overseas Zimbabwean assets to pay that debt; and finally for a legislator's only strategy to be to pass legislation which is most probably Constitutional, or would be rejected by many Parliamentarians.

There is zero pattern of logical thought around those fighting for, or standing for the anti-ZC camp. All emotional with disastrous consequences and zero prospects of success!

[brmtaylor.com admin]

You're probably right about that, hhm.

The only bit I would add to is the final sentence. There's also zero prospect of success if nothing changes - because there's no new players coming through and no development to speak of, embarrassingly poor domestic and club structures and a dying age-group system.

There's zero prospect of success either way. No matter what happens cricket in Zimbabwe is dead, isn't it.

[encore]

The only bit I would add to is the final sentence. There's also zero prospect of success if nothing changes - because there's no new players coming through and no development to speak of, embarrassingly poor domestic and club structures and a dying age-group system.

There's zero prospect of success either way. No matter what happens cricket in Zimbabwe is dead, isn't it.

I shall let the Zimbabwe women's cricket team captain answer you, because to be quite honest, I don't matter, and neither do my words:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... ne-musonda

"I can't put a figure to it and say this is the actual number of people who have been affected," Musonda said. "Zimbabwe Cricket employs thousands of people for a game to be played. It's employment creation for people, from the curators to the groundsmen, to the people who cook in the kitchen, the chefs, people who prepare food for the players, the administration, the actual players. And as an extension, people who are benefiting from their fellow relatives and families being employed by Zimbabwe Cricket. Our families have been affected as well.

"So I cannot put a number to it, but I can say a lot of people have been affected by what is happening because there are no salaries and people don't know what to do with their lives anymore. There's no more employment for a lot of people. This is the ripple effect of what is happening."

"The solution that's there now is for the SRC to reinstate the board," she said. "That way, the ICC will be able to consider us again and continue to fund our fixtures, and sanction more tournaments. This is one solution that is within our reach.

"Granted, there might be issues between ZC and the SRC, but it has gone to the extremes that I don't think it should have. The SRC might have solved this situation better, might have looked at other strategies of how to go about things to get the desired outcome without taking this route, because now it has affected everyone else."

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Yeah, we've discussed this quite a bit. Obviously ZC doesn't employ thousands of people, although the cricket industry might support thousands indirectly.

ZC should not be employing many people at all, to be honest. It's a capitalism vs socialism question, others may disagree but I don't believe it's healthy to have one central organisation calling all of the shots. ZC should be a small organisation employing as few people as possible, supporting the national team and fostering an environment which promotes the development of the game.

Devolve responsibility for club cricket, by and large, to the provincial boards - they know their regions best.

ZC being the first and final point of call for all things cricket is the reason they are in the mess they are in now - because they are useless at what they do. The less they do, the better.

[Googly]

Hhm you have the most bizarre way of twisting facts to suit your agenda. I don’t get where you believe he fits into the latest drama, and you’ve overstated his influence on previous ones. Sure he has been outspoken but if you think everybody listens to one man you’re mistaken.

Yes people want to see the back of those guys and with great reason.

Just seen a tweet that says Vince Hogg has intructed all ZC staff to report to work by Thursday or suffer the consequences. Interesting. I’d be there bright and early if I worked there.