Must Do's of Zimbabwe Cricket. Constraints and Solutions.

[Detective RDS]

From whatever cricket I have seen from Zimbabwe in the recent months, the following 3 basic measures are must do's of Zimbabwe cricket.

1. Include a domestic T20 competition.
2. Continue playing the Academy side (i.e. Rising Star or their replacement) in the domestic competition as the 5th team.
3. Schedule more A team games, at least at home, tour if possible.

Can the members here shed some light on why the above mentioned basic measures are still not taken ? What are their constraints and possible solutions ? I think they are very basic measures and every cricket administration should be able to do it. I'm not talking about introducing Zimbabwean Premier League (ZPL) T20s with the Rashids, Gayles or building a new cricket complex etc.

Feel free to mention your must do's also. Also discuss what are their constraints and possible solutions.

[Jemisi]

It is all money or the lack of it though. The A team needs to go somewhere that wants them and play some serious cricket. Be it India or England. But they'd have to be hosted. I doubt anyone is up for that.

[Googly]

Because the ZC don’t give a shit as long as they keep getting money. The second that’s at risk they will do the bare minimum to try and tick whatever box the ICC want them to. ICC will send a corrupt lazy representative out to wander around under the watchful eye of Makoni and stay in Meikles with a couple of hookers and say we’re doing just great.

[eugene]

How can we not have money to run the domestic scene? How much does it really cost? Its not like these guys are making tens of thousands of dollars. ZC receives millions.

[jward]

From whatever cricket I have seen from Zimbabwe in the recent months, the following 3 basic measures are must do's of Zimbabwe cricket.

1. Include a domestic T20 competition.
2. Continue playing the Academy side (i.e. Rising Star or their replacement) in the domestic competition as the 5th team.
3. Schedule more A team games, at least at home, tour if possible.

Can the members here shed some light on why the above mentioned basic measures are still not taken ? What are their constraints and possible solutions ? I think they are very basic measures and every cricket administration should be able to do it. I'm not talking about introducing Zimbabwean Premier League (ZPL) T20s with the Rashids, Gayles or building a new cricket complex etc.

Feel free to mention your must do's also. Also discuss what are their constraints and possible solutions.

I'm afraid the big reason why this won't take place in the near future is MONEY - or lack of. In the immediate future Zimbabwe Cricket should be able to keep going thanks to Vince van der Bijl and the ICC, but they are on an absolute shoestring budget.

[jward]

How can we not have money to run the domestic scene? How much does it really cost? Its not like these guys are making tens of thousands of dollars. ZC receives millions.

I don't know the details of the agreement between ICC and ZC, but millions are owed, and for the near future ZC will have to operate on the equivalent of a starvation diet; it will be a long time before the millions start to flow again. We have massive staff lay-offs, reduction in teams and in players, shortened season - the extravagances of the past have caught up with a vengeance and for the present everything needs to be cut to the bare minimum. Those of us without contracts now were not responsible for the financial disaster, but we are all paying the price for it.

[Kriterion_BD]

Well ZC had no money even when they were getting blank checks from the ICC, tens of millions of dollars. Now there is the "drip-feed" of funds, so ZC probably just gets a few hundred thousand on an ad hoc basis.

But specifically the points:

1) A team tours. Zimbabwe's senior side at full strength would struggle to compete with the A teams of most if not all Test playing nations. On top of that, even the Indian A team is a loss-making venture. A teams cost money to tour/host tours and they don't bring in any revenue (gate receipts, TV ratings, etc). This is why the top 4 nations A teams almost exclusively play each other...when you're not making any money, you don't even want to play A teams from Bangladesh, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. ZC, if they want to give quality time to their development sides, should try and arrange tours against Under-19 teams from India, England, Australia. That is more likely to go down, and honestly, the Indian U-19s would probably easily brush a Zimbabwean A team aside. Imagine guys like Prithvi Shaw or Rishab Pant batting against the likes of Ngarava or Mavuta.

2) Rising Stars. Again its down to money. My advice would be to ask the ICC for the bear minimum drip in order to keep RS in the domestic competitions.

3) Doesn't ZC already have a T20 league? It is true though that T20 cricket has changed ODI cricket, both the batting and bowling aspects. Bangladesh are still a very mediocre T20 side, and its no wonder that Bangladesh never scores more than 320 in ODIs whereas all other teams regularly post 350+ and even 400. Even fellow mediocre sides like Pakistan. 10 years ago, 286-5 on this very same wicket would have been a very decent score and ZIM might well have won. 2018, and its chased down like 186 with 8 overs to spare. That too with a wicket taken on the first ball of the defense.