Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Participate in discussion with your fellow Zimbabwe cricket fans!

Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Yes
13
41%
No
19
59%
 
Total votes: 32

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jaybro
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by jaybro »

Thanks for sharing Patrick
Chairman of the Neville Madziva fan Club

Originator of the #mumbamania movement

ZIMDOGGY
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by ZIMDOGGY »

Thanks Patrick,
I’m sure browsers of this forum including Crimson, googly,Btadmin, Grant,eugene,jaybro,sloandog,Robot,stoneman,margarine would enjoy reading this article.
Cricinfo profile of the 'James Bond' of cricket:

FULL NAME: Angus James Mackay
BORN: 13 June 1967, Harare
KNOWN AS: Gus Mackay

'The' Gus Mackay.

Hero.
Sportsman.
Artist.
Player.

**
Q. VUSI SIBANDA, WHERE DO YOU HOP?

A. UNDA DA ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE*

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zimbos_05
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by zimbos_05 »

I completely missed Pats read. Was a very good read.

It actually reminded me of a time I went to watch a game at Universals. The like of Campbell, Flower, Ervine etc were all on show. Some serious talent was there. I was stunned by what I was seeing, but I remember being put off by something.

As the game was being played, there was the likes of Ervine, sitting next to Alistair Campbell learning about the game. Asking for tips, talking about the game and developing. There was even a family sitting one side where the kids were just enjoying the game and the father was talking to another father about how to develop the grounds outside of the major ones so we could develop a proper cricketing structure within the game. How to invest money back in to a place like Universals for example, so it could become a feeder club for future stars.

Meanwhile, there was a group of administrators discussing, "why didn't we charge people to come watch these games". One might think, hang on, this idea in basic theory sounds good, if the money is going back to the grassroots. I continued to listen to the administrators. "We could charge for people to come see these players and that will give us the money to build the club house we want with the pool table and exclusive area". They weren't planning on charging for a good cause, they were planning on charging for personal game.

Here was a game where kids were getting the chance to watch national team players play in their backyard for free. One one side you have people talking about investing money in to the game to develop a club that is not even there. On the other side, you had people talking about charging for every little thing so they could get more money in their pockets.

Universals is now a dead club. No cricket gets played there. The nets are shambles. The bowling machine sits there damaged and unused. The cricket field now has random trees on them because the guy's wife who runs the club thought they look pretty and she is turning it in to her glorified garden.

I can't tell you how much it shits me to go back to that club and see what has become of it. What I would give to be able to be in a position so I can contribute to Zim cricket or be part of a group that was responsible for the running of the game in that country.

TapsC
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by TapsC »

Great read Patrick.

I have always wanted to ask you guys. Do you think that the economic collapse also played a huge role in the collapse of things like club cricket? Who used to sponsor it back in the day? Who used to pay for the maintenance of the club grounds etc? The franchise system also collapsed because the franchises still relied on ZC.

Don't get me wrong. I don't support the admins. They have gained massively.

Googly
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by Googly »

There’s some misinformation here.
All the clubs were stand alone entities that maintained their own facilities. The bulk of the money came from Club subs which relied on membership.
None of them were ever flush with cash. When they needed to build or improve something there was usually a snag and they either fund raised (beer fests), or approached wealthier members with corporate connections. Those “administrators” would have been Club committee members looking at raising money to improve their club, there’s no way any ZCU guys would have been able to get their hands on entrance fee money charged for a club game.

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zimbos_05
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by zimbos_05 »

Googly wrote:
Sun Feb 25, 2018 10:31 am
There’s some misinformation here.
All the clubs were stand alone entities that maintained their own facilities. The bulk of the money came from Club subs which relied on membership.
None of them were ever flush with cash. When they needed to build or improve something there was usually a snag and they either fund raised (beer fests), or approached wealthier members with corporate connections. Those “administrators” would have been Club committee members looking at raising money to improve their club, there’s no way any ZCU guys would have been able to get their hands on entrance fee money charged for a club game.
I know for a fact it was not club committee members. I know this because they were busy running the tuck shop, cooking food, and looking after the players. I don't know who the exact individuals were, I just know that they were definitely some form of administrators, to what level I'm not sure.

The point is not the people, but the discussion. It was perhaps a discussion to brings clubs under one body and no longer as stand alone entities that led to that topic. I was not listening to every word of their conversation. I just happened to catch this part of it.

I am not trying to pick on any certain person or saying it was indeed ZC, but more so the thinking that varied so differently between individuals not far apart. It is a indication of how the game has fallen so far down and how the game has lost a lot of good people. If we can get the good people back in to the game, we can get the game back to where it needs to be. There are some very smart individuals on this forum. I am willing to bet that a management team of forum members could do a better job. Not every story is about blaming people, but there is always a lesson in each story.

Googly
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by Googly »

Ok I’m not arguing, you heard what you heard. I’m sure it would have been towards the end of the Club era though.
The death of the Club structures was disastrous for Zim cricket.

zimfan1
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by zimfan1 »

Worried about the weather, could impact the qualifiers big time.

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brmtaylor.com admin
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by brmtaylor.com admin »

zimfan1 wrote:
Sun Feb 25, 2018 2:07 pm
Worried about the weather, could impact the qualifiers big time.
That should work in our favour then. The conventional wisdom is we won't qualify, so any external factors which could shake up the tournament can only be a plus.

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zimbos_05
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Re: Will Zimbabwe qualify?

Post by zimbos_05 »

Googly wrote:
Sun Feb 25, 2018 1:47 pm
Ok I’m not arguing, you heard what you heard. I’m sure it would have been towards the end of the Club era though.
The death of the Club structures was disastrous for Zim cricket.
So here's the thing. I asked my dad if he remembers this. He certainly did. Apparently these were some non ZC execs that were invited by a disgruntled former club member. The former club member was not happy at being voted out at previous club elections, and was hoping to stage some kind of coup to get control of the cricket side of the club and invited these guys because apparently, "when he is in charge, he would help them get in to power"

I don't think it ever came to fruition.

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