The more I think about it the more we have no other option.
And we are going to need the ICCs help.
What gives me hope is how the ICC have appointed some Indian types to fly in and take control of the finances. Positive move.
What we need to do is turn this on its head and capitalise on their English/Aussie coaching and give these kids an early Christmas and cough up the hard moola.
As good as welch, Byrom, keefe and friends are, they are hardly going to eventuate to Dave warner and kohli stars.
My point is we need to offer these kids an incentive to throw away their England ambitions and come home for a walk up start into the international arena.
Why not offer US 150 k contracts with a three year guarantee to Byrom, welch ?
125k US to Jarvis over the same timeframe?
Just these three alone will bolster the stocks to levels not seen since 2004.
If ICC chip in and have a confidentiality clause and some sort of ironclad guarantee then the momentum will snowball and other kids will stay.
You forgot to mention building a new website so no marks for you unfortunately
Hosting the tournament - and having Mire, Taylor and Jarvis in the team - will give Zimbabwe a much-needed boost in their bid to qualify for the World Cup, which is so important to the financial future of ZC. Which of course brings us to the elephant in the room. "We haven't turned the corner until we have solved our financial problems," Hasnain told Cricbuzz recently. "But the last six months show that we are on the right track."
Of course, the reason why so few are talking about a revival in Zimbabwe cricket is that most have given up on it. That is understandable after years of scandal and depression, which ultimately brought a debt of around $20m, much of it lying in high-interest loans from Zimbabwean banks. Unfortunately that legacy from previous administrations hangs over ZC - not only in the minds of the public, but also at the ICC.
The governing body has not forgotten what happened the last time they loaned money to ZC, back in 2012. Instead of using the money to retire some of their existing high-interest loans, ZC put the money in a non-interest bearing account at a bank with whom three ZC high-ups had ties. At the ICC meeting in Auckland last week, it is understood that Hasnain's plea for financial assistance did not fall on fertile ground.
"People are still looking at Zimbabwe Cricket with suspicion," said one source who was privy to the discussions. "There is resistance to help them based on past performance, when ZC were unable to answer the questions raised."
In an effort to change perceptions, Hasnain has promised that ZC's first set of accounts under his watch will be posted on the organisation's website (a new version of which is currently being constructed). It would be the first time in five years that anyone outside of ZC or perhaps the government's Sports and Recreation Commission have seen them.
Are they both looking at the same corner or travelling along the same track here?
Neil Johnson, Alistair Campbell, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), Grant Flower, Dave Houghton, Guy Whittall, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Ray Price, Eddo Brandes