Ozias Bvute and ZC mess

[grant]

Dean du Plessis on Ozias Bvute's press conference :
https://www.facebook.com/CricZim/posts/1136429383106338

[aydee]

Dean du Plessis on Ozias Bvute's press conference :
https://www.facebook.com/CricZim/posts/1136429383106338

* Manase's press conference.

[grant]

Oh, my bad.

[Googly]

Well let me explain it to you- if they don't offer $10 for people to play club cricket there won't be 9-11 clubs in Harare (most of which have no home ground), but realistically there would be enough players for 2-3 and most of the players would be white.

Is this purely an economic thing? Do they need to be paid because that day they spend on the cricket field they are losing income from selling something or doing something else?

Or are we talking about people who just don't care enough about cricket to play otherwise, but if that $10 carrot is dangled in front of them then what the heck they'll run in and have a bowl?

If it's the former, then ZC are in an unenviable position and if $10 per person is what it takes then I'm not sure if they have any alternative.
But if it's the latter, these guys aren't national team prospects anyway so the clubs may as well fold if they are just being propped up for show.

It's got to be the former right? I can't believe there are only 30 odd people in Harare willing to play cricket for fun (friendlies league aside).

Sorry I never saw your question.
It all stemmed from when the old Clubs were deliberately weakened by ZC. Many black players couldn't afford the subs, nor did they want to be in a hostile racial environment. Once the club system eventually disintegrated ZC had to create a different system. The dismantling of the club structures was how they consolidated and centralized their powers. They had to now pay to resurrect many of the fields, create new "clubs" and set a precedent by offering players money to cover transport and a lunch and a bit extra. Players came to expect it. Times are so hard now for the majority of the players and if they have to now make their own way there and buy a couple of drinks and lunch it becomes a real decision as to how to spend their own money on any given day. It may sound highly improbable to a person not living here, but daily survival is a real issue. If a particular player has a more pressing need on the Saturday or Sunday morning he just won't arrive. I see how little money guys have and I feel desperate for them, but on the other hand will never understand why they are not willing to start shouting. They just seem resigned to deal with whatever crap gets dished out. It's depressing.

[Googly]

It's also one of the reasons why there's a universal reluctance to include whites in admin roles. A white man's attitude would be - join a club, pay your fees and pay to play. It's pretty unsympathetic and they would rather have more "understanding" admin. Recent events show that they are not understanding but history and a very effective propaganda machine will ensure that whites will forever be regarded with deep suspicion. It's such a complicated history here with deep animosities on both sides.

[jimmylesaint]

It's also one of the reasons why there's a universal reluctance to include whites in admin roles. A white man's attitude would be - join a club, pay your fees and pay to play. It's pretty unsympathetic and they would rather have more "understanding" admin. Recent events show that they are not understanding but history and a very effective propaganda machine will ensure that whites will forever be regarded with deep suspicion. It's such a complicated history here with deep animosities on both sides.

Quite the opposite in Matabeleland...players are now paying $4 a game towards costs. ZC is not inputting any money-same as last year. White guys are wanted in admin positions-(by the everday cricket player,, perhaps not ZC as this may pose a threat to them.)
The whitemans attitude is, join a club and pay to play-that's the only way cricket can be sustainable and that the better players are playing, not just Joe Smith who is looking for a free meal and a buck or two.
Think about it, buying cricket kit is circa $500 and these players can't pay anything per game-my big black crack!! Look at the amount of takeaway food and beers after the game are bought and consumed!!
I'm afraid the white man way is the right way. Granted 2-3 players may be really good and really broke -clubs around the world pay subs and fees for talented players whether they be broke students or between jobs.
Take it from me people of all colour just want Accountability and transparency

[Googly]

Well I'm mighty glad to hear that, and I sincerely hope that spreads this way.

[grant]

http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/ ... de-of-hurt

Streak and Marsh found Hogg with Shah and "Max" Ebrahim when they arrived, but the man who had called the meeting, Ozias Bvute, was not there. Hogg dialled him up on speakerphone, and Bvute's message was clear: the team was not representative enough and it would be re-selected. Streak recalls: "I said, 'Well, this side's been selected by Ali Shah and Max Ebrahim and Stephen Mangongo, so how can you say it's racist: there are no whites involved. And Geoff Marsh, who's advising them, is an Australian. Do you know the ramifications of doing this? Because the team's been announced and I'm not going to go and tell a guy he's been dropped and not tell him why.'"

A supremely slick operator with banking interests in Zimbabwe and Namibia, Bvute had used his task-force post to manoeuvre his way into the ZCU board of directors by the time he and Streak went head to head in that March 2004 meeting. Sharp and driven, he would quickly supersede those in higher positions as the saga played out.

While the colour of Zimbabwe's cricketers changed as a result of the rebel saga, the colour of its bank balance altered as well. Between June 2004, when Hogg quit as managing director, and the end of 2005, it went from $10m in the black to a sickly pale shade of the spectrum. Money that usually lasted the majority of a World Cup cycle was gone halfway through that period. Since then, ZC has borrowed millions of dollars from MetBank, in which Bvute holds significant shares. ZC officials say that without those loans cricket would not have been able to continue. Others ask who gains the most from the relationship, and there have certainly been instances where the bank's interests have been put first - most notably in 2012 when a $6m loan from the ICC was not used to retire a portion of ZC's high-interest debt as it was designed to, and was instead deposited in a non-interest-bearing account with MetBank. More than one stakeholder in Zimbabwean cricket has suggested that the rebel saga served a key purpose for those with eyes on the guaranteed foreign currency that ZC brings in: getting rid of any players who would stand in their way.

At best, ZC has been guilty of gross mismanagement since Bvute took over from Hogg. At worst, the organisation has been used for personal enrichment.