Cash-strapped Zimbabwe struggle without World Cup on horizon

[CrimsonAvenger]

https://in.reuters.com/article/cricket- ... NKCN1RA1UP

As the heavyweights of international cricket set their sights on lifting the World Cup at Lord’s in the English summer, Zimbabwe are confronted with the reality that for the first time in four decades they won’t feature in the showpiece event.

Instead of plotting upsets on cricket’s biggest stage, they will be playing for pride at home in a low-key series starting April 10.

They will be playing the United Arab Emirates – the same team that deprived them of a World Cup berth by way of an unexpected three run victory in last year’s qualifying tournament.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) have increasingly struggled to schedule high quality fixtures as their financial position worsens.

Touring depends on the agreeability of foreign boards – a tour of India slated for this month was quietly shelved earlier in the year – while hosting top-ranked teams is expensive.

In a statement, ZC said that a recently proposed one-day international tour by Afghanistan wasn’t viable, despite the boards agreeing to share expenses, because of “the prohibitive costs of broadcasting the matches live on television”.

The situation has left Zimbabwe, who last played at international level four months ago during a tour of Bangladesh, sliding further away from the mainstream and into cricket’s second tier.

After the UAE series, their next assignment will be a limited-overs tour of the Netherlands in June.

DOMESTIC CRICKET
The desperate economic state of the country, where inflation has now reached a decade-high 59.39 percent on the back of foreign currency shortages, has impacted cricket operations at all levels.

Zimbabwe’s provincial first-class tournament, the Logan Cup, is contested by four franchise teams and provides a vital proving ground for players with national team ambitions – when it’s not being disrupted.

“It’s really important playing club and in particular franchise cricket as that’s the build up to the international stage for us”, wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva, 31, told Reuters.

“As players we always want to play more games but unfortunately this season has been really short for us.”

The 2018-19 season featured just 12 matches. One match was postponed for two months, while two matches were abandoned after a 150 percent increase in fuel prices spurred civil unrest in the capital city, Harare.

“Nothing beats game time and hopefully the administration resolves that next season”, the test centurion concluded.

Before the season commenced, ZC abolished the Rising Stars team – an academy initiative designed to give young players extra exposure.

With fewer teams, Zimbabwe’s small talent pool is less thinly spread. However, the number of matches each team played reduced from eight to six.

Ryan Burl, who featured regularly for the Rising Stars after making his one-day international debut in 2017, says that prior to the Logan Cup he had never played a game of cricket longer than two days.

“It was completely new to me, and I loved it from my first game”, the 24-year-old told Reuters.

“When I left high school, I used to be quite an aggressive batter who played shots from ball one. But this long format found a whole new side to me which I never knew existed – being patient and understanding the game better.”

CLUB CRICKET
The country’s economic woes hit cricket hardest at grassroots level.

Harare’s premier club competition, the Vigne Cup, featured four divisions at the turn of the century. Now it can only sustain two.

As long-established clubs have slipped out of existence, the league has experienced a rise in the number of nomadic teams.

Of the eight clubs in the first division, only two maintain their own venues. This has resulted in a phenomenon of having more teams than grounds to play on, which causes challenges for fixture fulfilment.

“Here in Zimbabwe most clubs do not have grounds”, said Daniel Jakiel, 28, a fast bowler from the itinerant Rainbow Cricket Club.

Teams like Rainbow rely on schools or the remaining established clubs, Takashinga and Old Hararians, making their facilities available.

“Some of the clubs, they came from their own areas so they have their grounds. But some of the clubs, like us, we are based in Harare town so we don’t have a ground yet.”

Jakiel, who works as a legal clerk, acknowledges the sacrifice that club cricketers must make in a country with more than 80 percent unemployment.

“It’s difficult sometimes, but I have to try to manage my time and balance my practice and work”, he said.

“Some of the players, they might have problems (with) transport and kit as well. Here it’s difficult to buy kit when you are not working. So those are some of the challenges they face, most players.”

Despite the hardships that players at all levels face, their unwavering love of cricket serves as a beacon of hope for the future of the game in Zimbabwe.

[jaybro]

Grim

[Googly]

That last paragraph brought a tear to my eye and a bit of bile to my throat. He should write presidential speeches

[Googly]

I wonder who that journalist is- Joel Dubber?
I still don’t get how ZC is cash strapped? We’re receiving more money than ever before, where is it? Well we know the answer to that. Makoni drives a new VX 200 series and we continue to pay Bvute’s interest on his personal loan, we’ve barely gotten to the capital part yet. A VX 200 lands at $150k, assuming he pays duty
The rate is now over 4:1 so local ZC costs are probably half of what they were 6 months ago so the economy is working in their favour and not against them. Apart from a few senior players everyone, including ground staff, coaches and junior admin, get paid in Bongo Bongo dollars so their local wage bill in USD terms is nothing. They’ve commandeered OH and a jambanja of HSC is on the cards, some ghost workers have been fired, so they don’t pay much rent so what big local costs exist?

I also don’t understand how televising games costs money. If you’re playing Papua then maybe not many people want to watch, but surely you can sell the rights to an Afghanistan game? Surely you’d at least cover costs?
There’s still no closure on what happened to the broadcasting truck.

The most successful tool used by the likes of Zanu and ZC is ensuring the key personnel are slightly better off than their compatriots. It doesn’t have to be by much, just enough to buy their allegiance and silence. Everybody appears to be morally bankrupt.

The article highlights my beef about club sides with no home ground. There are 8 club sides in Harare (16 if you include their laughable second teams) and there are only two club grounds. Bvute now has his own personal magnificent ground at Country Club that just lies idle.
Let that sink in for a minute. In the capital city of a full member nation we have only two club grounds in use!!
Now when you see someone making a token gesture of putting in nets in Gwanda or donating dubiously acquired kit to kids hastily assembled for a photo shoot in Muzarabani then you know you’re dealing with very bad people. We have club grounds lying idle or that have been converted into dirt bowl soccer pitches and we have a couple of dozen government schools that once had very good cricket facilities and a captive group of thousands of schoolboys. Nobody can possibly pretend that there’s any interest in cricket here. Sure you can find one sad looking boy bursting into a beaming smile when he gets a free Kashmir willow oversized bat that will last him 10 years whilst 40 of his mates cheer in the background because they’ve received a free T shirt, but one swallow doesn’t make a summer. There are decent club players who can’t afford kit, let alone club subs that are necessary to have a ground that one can be proud of.

These senior players have a lot to answer for. They’ve knowingly perpetuated a system that has finished our cricket. They’ve done it because they’re slightly better off than their mates. Have you heard of leaving a legacy? What will yours be when you hang up your boots in just a few years time? That you sold our sport down the river? Will you be happy with your kids playing village cricket, or will you encourage them to play soccer. (Soccer is in a way worse state actually!) Do you understand that in a few years time cricket will all but be dead at school level.
Reggie and co for the 10th straight year in a row are hoping that next season might have more fixtures and be better organized. For the 15th year in a row it won’t be, it will be worse. All that has happened is that they’re extremely grateful that there’s a promise of some match fees (that will probably be withheld) when we play UAE.
UAE!! C’mon guys, you need to grow a set by August and have a proper plan or we’re done. You don’t need any admin skills, you don’t need to think too hard, you just need to all put down your cricket bats until your masters are replaced. There’s an element of Stockholm syndrome here, you’ll be ok without them and they’ve stashed enough to be just fine without you, I promise. The gophers will hopefully join the ranks of the unemployed. You’ve done it before, but resumed after empty promises and a few strategic coke and buns.
Don’t rely on Mrs Coventry either, she ain’t rocking no boats any time soon. Even her revered status doesn’t change the fact that she’s white and not to be trusted, it’s something that you have to do all by yourselves, uncharted territory for sure.

[Black Mamba]

Not only Zimbabwe, entire African Cricket is in dire state. Kenya & Namibia who should have been now an established side has faded away.South Africa has been loosing stars with the Kolpak deal

New nations are not developing, seems not interested in the game.Politics and mismanagement of finance is simply making it hard for the cricket in Africa

Europe ( through Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis & Sri Lankans.) & Middle East has taken T20s as the way of progress along with the Americas through Windies Cricket and are developing the game.

[kudet]

if you take in Jackiels last sentence and what makhaya ntini said on inside edge then you will really see that ntini was telling the truth.. the locals really struggle.. its a shitty situ in harare.

[zimbos_05]

I know it's been discussed before, but would anyone be keen to start a drive? Maybe find one club that really needs the help and support and wont steal anything. A club we know will put things to good use. We can get one of the lads in Zim to be the main guy. We can collect funds and have it put in to an account of this person or use the funds it directly to buy the kit from a supplier in South for example. We can then have our guy on the ground go to the club chosen and distribute the kit.

Alternatively even look at the cost of supplying a youth team with gear like shirts and trousers. We do not have to look for Gray Nichols or Adidas, there would be some side company that does not cost as much and still produces good quality.

We could potentially start a foundation where we do it once a year, that way people can contribute every month a small amount, whatever they can afford, and then at the end of the year, the accumulative total get's donated. Eventually we can build it up to things like Go Fund Me pages or having events in our various cities wherever we live across the globe to raise funds. I know there is decent size Zim population in Brisbane. Could arrange a friendly T20 game one day with braais and kids activities, with all funds going to the cause. Just an idea, doesn't have to be as elaborate.

[ZIMDOGGY]

I know it's been discussed before, but would anyone be keen to start a drive? Maybe find one club that really needs the help and support and wont steal anything. A club we know will put things to good use. We can get one of the lads in Zim to be the main guy. We can collect funds and have it put in to an account of this person or use the funds it directly to buy the kit from a supplier in South for example. We can then have our guy on the ground go to the club chosen and distribute the kit.

Alternatively even look at the cost of supplying a youth team with gear like shirts and trousers. We do not have to look for Gray Nichols or Adidas, there would be some side company that does not cost as much and still produces good quality.

We could potentially start a foundation where we do it once a year, that way people can contribute every month a small amount, whatever they can afford, and then at the end of the year, the accumulative total get's donated. Eventually we can build it up to things like Go Fund Me pages or having events in our various cities wherever we live across the globe to raise funds. I know there is decent size Zim population in Brisbane. Could arrange a friendly T20 game one day with braais and kids activities, with all funds going to the cause. Just an idea, doesn't have to be as elaborate.

So you want to pick a certain club then pump them with money and facilities to just this one club?

You don’t happen to be a Broncos or Roosters fan do you?

[Kriterion_BD]

ZIM were in world cups in 2007, 2011, and 2015 and we’re still always cash strapped. Even on the rare occaisions that they had sponsorships, they are woefully ill equipped
For the modern game. It’s 2019 and none of the venues have floodlights, electronic scoreboards, Seats, or big screens. They money goes right down the drain, it’s better off given to rising associates. I bet Nepal has more serious infrastructure when it comes to cricket.

[jaybro]

It's not hard to see why other nations want Zimbabwe either kicked out or replaced by a more deserving member.

Again it shows how lazy the ICC are that they've been happy to send the cash over without giving a fuck where the money is going to