http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/?p=20481 - Some great quotes from our friend Bvute, but on the positive side it does seem that ZC are willing to negotiate to some degree
I think the Players' Union is dramatically missing the point by trying to negotiate slightly better contracts, surely they should be trying to sort out the whole administrative structure?
Mr. Bvute's remarks about the players being young guys fresh out of school are not accurate, as there are very few of them. His thought process epitomizes how our system works- the elite must be served by an impoverished and eternally grateful majority. We're witnessing Communism at its best. The insinuation of the sinister third force being a factor hopefully won't wash this time around, but you never know.... it seems to be the unifying cry that has been the decisive factor that has done the trick every time so far. The lawyer admitting that he felt cowed, bullied and unable to leave should make it very clear that he needs to be replaced as the Players' representative forthwith before he sells them short, if he has not done so already.
My All-time Zimbabwe XI
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
The only way that Zim cricket is going to survive is if there are new personnel involved, just increasing the salaries of the players is not going to change anything. It may make them smile a little more but I'm pretty sure they're doing their best under impossible conditions anyway, and the money is only part of the issue. If the players are unable to recognize that a complete overhaul is critically imperative and overdue, then maybe Ozias is not incorrect in his assessment of them as mere uneducated pawns in the game.
I keep hoping that we have come full circle and sanity will prevail, but I know that this is not the case. The fact is that if somebody waved a magic wand and everything was done perfectly from this day forward from ground upwards, it would take many years to see the benefits, simply because we lack world class players and because the system is so broken. We have two or three and some guys that could become so with practice and exposure, but it's a team game and you need real quality all the way through to be able to compete with what's out there. It boils down to what is an acceptable mess to the ICC and what is not, only they can answer that, and they are an organization that appears more secretive than the Freemasons.