[Article]: No country for young sportsmen

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Detective RDS
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[Article]: No country for young sportsmen

Post by Detective RDS »

Neil Manthorp talks about the issue of talent drain i.e. migration of young Zimbabweans to other countries & recommends ICC a solution of setting a minimum wage for cricketers in 13 teams one day international league.

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/80 ... -sportsmen
No country for young sportsmen
by Neil Manthorp • Last updated on Monday, 20 June, 2016, 01:29 PM

Curran (right) played in both the 1983 and 1987 World Cups for Zimbabwe and then, courtesy of an Irish Passport, enjoyed almost two decades of first-class cricket in England with Northamptonshire and Gloucester.

For those who know, the legacy of Kevin Curran is obvious every day at the Harare Sports Club. The top level balcony above the main stand at the Golf Course end of the ground, housing the media centre was, for two decades, nothing more than an empty space for television cameras - on the few occasions they were required.

When Curran had moved on from his tenure as Zimbabwe Under-19 coach to take charge of the Mashonaland Eagles, based at Sports Club, he made things happen. There is always a reason why things can't be done in Zimbabwe, but there is also, always, a way to be found. Curran was one who believed there was a solution to every problem.

Despite the inevitable lack of funds and desire, he found a series of sponsors to change the area into a gym. Veneered wooden floor, free weights and stretching exercises specific to cricket's requirements, even the water cooler, Curran set it up perfectly. Most of it has disappeared since his death in October 2012 but the desire he had to improve Zimbabwe cricket is still evident.


Curran was a remarkable cricketer. He played in both the 1983 and 1987 World Cups for Zimbabwe and then, courtesy of an Irish Passport, enjoyed almost two decades of first-class cricket in England with Northamptonshire and Gloucester. Over 15,000 runs and 600 wickets at an average of almost 37 and 27.6 compare with the best all rounders ever.

To say that his three sons inherited his ability is simplistic because nobody inherits talent like that. They may have inherited some of it, but it's more accurate to say they inherited - or copied - his work ethic. Kevin encouraged his boys, but they had only to look at how hard and often their father trained to see what was required.

But Curran, despite his affection for the land of his birth and determination to make a difference to its cricketers, always knew his sons would have different options. Tom, now 21, was born in Cape Town while Ben, 20, and Sam, 18, were delivered in Northampton. Their junior years were spent barefoot in Harare but they were never destined to spend their teenage or adult lives there.

It was obvious from an early age that they were exceptionally talented but Zimbabwe was never going to be the beneficiary of it. Far from being the exception, the boys' journey to England (or Australia, or New Zealand) is now the normal ambition for the country's most talented cricketers.

At the end of last summer I attended a Twenty20 tournament in Harare for eight top cricketing schools, seven from around Zimbabwe and one from Durban. The standard was pleasingly and unexpectedly high with very few, if any 'passengers' in any of the teams. Although the percentage of white boys playing exceeded the national demographic, they were still in the minority and there was nothing to suggest that integration between all races was not genuine.

The real shock was listening to the boys talk about their prospects of playing beyond their school years and perhaps even making a career in the game. These were eight private, fee-paying schools, not government schools which struggle desperately to provide meaningful facilities to play cricket.

To listen to them talk was to realise that this is a fertile breeding ground of talent, but not for Zimbabwe. Or even South Africa. The talk was of who had been offered the chance to play in England, New Zealand or Australia.

Several talented boys from Zimbabwe are 'poached' by traditional South African cricket playing schools each year but, if they are good enough, they almost always see the move south as a stepping stone to better (or richer) things.

The very same parents who work so hard to put the St.John's College festival together and make it run so smoothly are the very same parents who see sporting future for their sons here. And it is not just white parents, as it once was.

So contacts are made oversees, clubs are sought for aspirant teenagers and - rest assured - not a single one of the boys is unaware of how long they will need to be resident in their new countries before they become eligible to apply for "the paperwork."

The whole world has become painfully aware of the plight of 'economic migrants' over the last year but these, bizarrely, are sporting migrants. They would almost certainly stay and fight for a career here if the game was healthy enough to offer them a serious one.

There is a solution and it does not involve the Zimbabwean government or even, necessarily, Zimbabwe Cricket. The International Cricket Council is close to finalising an One-Day International league of 13 teams with promotion and relegation. The same, hopefully, will apply in time to Test cricket. It would be naive to think that every team could be paid the same, but some sort of standard - even a minimum wage - administered directly by the ICC would be all Zimbabweans need to stay at home.

The Currans were always going to leave, but it need not be the case for future generations if the ICC is serious about protecting and growing the game.

© Cricbuzz

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