At a news conference in Harare on Tuesday, Blessing Mawhire and players’ representative Clive Field announced that senior players would not play for the national team until an investigation by the Sports and Recreation Commission into Zimbabwe Cricket’s activities was completed, and until Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute had stood down from the organisation. Players are also demanding payment of match fees due from the recent series against New Zealand and India. Mawhire indicated that the players were in no mood for compromise, and were aware of what was at stake:
“We will all walk away from Zimbabwe Cricket. We have made a stand and we stand by that. It’s now or never. Basically what this would mean is the end of cricket in Zimbabwe.”
Chingoka and former captain Tatenda Taibu were due to be questioned by SRC officials, beginning Monday. ZC had been due to announce their squad on Thursday for January’s Asian Cup in Bangladesh, but with no players of ability available for selection this now look unlikely.
The ICC have announced the match schedule for next year’s U19 Cricket World Cup, to take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka in February next year. The full schedule is available from the ICC website here, while games involving Zimbabwe are listed on our Fixtures page.
Zimbabwe are in Group D of the competition, along with England, Ireland and Nepal. I’d like to think there’s at least one possible win there. The use of Super League and Plate competitions with playoffs to determine final standings will ensure that all teams are involved throughout the competition. In theory Zimbabwe’s Test status has them seeded to reach the Super League stage & a quarter-final against Pakistan, but given current playing form and player problems anything is possible.
Zimbabwe failed to win any of their matches in the Afro-Asian U19 Cup, which ended in India yesterday. You can find the results of all Zimbabwe’s games here.
India claimed the trophy with a convincing 8-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.
It looks likely that a number of Zimbabwe players could follow Tatenda Taibu’s example and quit the national team. BBC Sport quotes players’ representative Clive Field as saying there will be a players’ meeting on Monday (28 November) to discuss the matter:
“We are having a meeting on Monday to review our response to what has happened. This has all been a great shock to them and they are worried about their own futures. For many of them cricket is all they have. A proportion are certainly considering their positions. These are really troubled times for Zimbabwe cricket. There has been a deterioration for some time now and there is widespread concern about it all.”
Meanwhile, ZC are having another attempt at holding a board meeting to work through the current problems. This one has been scheduled for 2 December, but in the light of recent difficulties in persuading provincial chairmen to recognise the current makeup of the board, it remains to be seen if the meeting will actually go ahead. A Special General Meeting to agree the creation of 5 new provinces, originally set for December 1, has also been pushed back to 23 December.
Zimbabwe face new players crisis (BBC Sport)
Board delays Special General Meeting for three weeks (CricInfo)
CricInfo reports that Tatenda Taibu has resigned as Zimbabwe’s captain, a move that some will have seen as inevitable after speaking out against those currently in control of Zimbabwe Cricket. Taibu described the move as:
“80% because of the current situation in Zimbabwe Cricket and 20% because I do not like the terms of my offered contract. The personal threats I have also had do not help.”
It seems Themba Mliswa has continued pressuring Taibu in recent days. Taibu had been due to sign for South African side Cobras as part of his ZC contract, a move that now seems in doubt.
Taibu to resign as Zimbabwe captain
The meeting of the ZC board schedule for Saturday has again been called off amid confusion over the status of some of the board members. CricInfo reports that recent board appointees were not selected in accordance with ZC’s constitution:
The appointment of Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the former Mashonaland province chairman, and lawyer Wilson Manase were regarded as flawed as the correct procedure was not followed - a transformational committee and the provincial chairmen did not nominate the two appointees as required by ZC’s own laws. Also, ZC has taken Cyprian Mandenge on to the board, but his chairmanship of Mashonaland, which qualifies him for a place, is being contested.
Provincial chairmen have stated they will only attend a board meeting once the board itself has be properly constituted
Still with CricInfo, they have two comment pieces dealing with the current situation, the general line being that if Chigoka and Bvute won’t stand down for the good of the game in Zimbabwe, then it’s time for the ICC to intervene.
Zimbabwe board again fails to meet
Time to act for the good of the game (Martin Williamson)
In the name of God, go (Peter Roebuck)
Just when everyone thought they were all tied up, The Independent reports a last-minute hitch with the new player contracts. As written, the contracts stipulate the RBZ forex auction rates to be used in calculating payments, but the auction system is no longer used since the Zimbabwe dollar was recently floated. Using the new interbank exchange system seems the logical way forward, and players’ representative Clive Field has approached ZC for clarification of the matter:
“It’s not the union’s fault and it’s not the players’ fault. We have now sought urgent dialogue with Mr Wilfred Mukondiwa (Zimbabwe Cricket) human resources general manager. He has undertaken to discuss the issue with the relevant authorities. So at the moment were waiting for clarification on that issue. That was the principal issue behind those revised contracts.”
Player deals put on hold
A broken finger picked up during Sunday’s one-day defeat by Western Province means Mark Vermeulen will be taking no part in this weekend’s games against Boland. Vermeulen is expected to see a doctor in Cape Town before returning home.
Zimbabwe U23 suffered their usual poor batting performance in day one of the Boland game in Paarl, being bowled out for 171.
With The Herald giving one-sided coverage of Themba Mliswa’s “friendly” telephone call to Tatenda Taibu, it falls to CricInfo to allow Taibu to put the other side of the tale:
Mliswa introduced himself and asked whether Taibu knew who he was - Taibu replied that he had only heard about him. Mliswa then told Taibu he was “only a black boy being used” at which point Taibu reminded him that he was no longer a boy. Mliswa went on to say: “I know where you live and I will come there and beat you up.” At that, Taibu hung up.
Mlwisa has reportedly been told by “state security” not to call Taibu again, but while Taibu himself has returned home his wife still fears for their safety. Taibu remains unrepentant about his comments at Thursday’s press conference:
Asked about a column in yesterday’s Herald in which Mliswa launched a bitter attack on him, Taibu said that the truth had not been printed by the local media which had given Mliswa free rein to criticise him. He added that his view, and that of the other players, remained the same - namely that Peter Chingoka, Ozias Bvute and people like Mliswa were not good for the game, and while they remained, the players would seriously consider a strike. “There is no worse thing as captain than going to practice and issues being discussed by the players have got nothing to do about the game but are all about governance issues. It just shows that the players are not concentrating.”
Taibu used by whites: Mliswa (The Herald)
Taibu talks of the threats which drove him into hiding (CricInfo)
One of Zimbabwe Cricket’s less pressing current disputes - the matter of player contracts - appears to be resolved. In an article detailing the ongoing investigation by the Zimbabwean authorities, CricInfo quotes ZC HR manager Wilfred Mukondiwa as saying the remaining issues surrounding new central contracts for national team players have been worked out:
There was some progress yesterday, however, with the announcement that the board had concluded negotiations with the players over contracts and other outstanding issues. “It was a positive meeting,” Wilfred Mukondiwa, ZC’s human resources manager, said. “We were in agreement as far as those were concerned.”
Of course, with players’ demands for the removal of Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute still unmet, a player strike is still a clear possibility.
Police raid ZC offices