Last 5 to 8 years, level of cricket in africa has gone down massively. Associate teams like Kenya & Namibia who once looked to be in the rising phase is now missing from that stage. Politics & Mismanagement has destroyed these two teams's future growth.
Zimbabwe, shining team of 90s, a test playing nation, has reached the level of division 2 league tier teams, as they are getting challanged by teams like Netherlands.Poor administration that failed to solve financial issues, inclusion of qouta system, Kolpak deals, lucrative offers from clubs in England is not only attracting the star players but also the Under 19s who are showing least interested in playing for their own country and are migrating to other countries.Zimbabwe Cricket blamed coach, support staffs and removed them for failing to qualify in Cricket World Cup 2019, and have brought back some old failures again to improve the game,but what's surprising is too see ZC Chairman, who didn't give resignation for the failure instead he has been again re - elected as Chairman.
South Africa's current form in World Cup, clearly indicates that the team is in declining mode and has been worsely affected by promishing players opting for Kolpak Deals. Players like Colin Ingram,Hardus Viljoen,Simon Harmer,Stiaan van Zyl, David Weise, Kyle Abbot, Rilee Rossouw, Merchant de Lange, Heino Kuhn,Duanne Olivier could have added a great value for their national team in the present World Cup. South African side always had been a team as contenders of the World Cup. From 1992 to 2015 they won games and qualified for the knock out stages. For the first time they are already out from contention due to worst performance, country's sports policy of colour politics and boards failure to keep players away from kolpak deal has hurt them and after world cup there could be some more players retiring from international cricket.
Cricket Boards of these teams have nothing to say except blamming ICC and Asian Cricket, where talents are not being screwed by politics, quota and performance graph of other asian team has been upwards with huge fan following. Cricket in Africa seems struggling for existance can be blown away unless they bring new policies to improve their game through better administration.
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Cricket in Africa ruined by Qouta system, Kolpak deal & Administration.?
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Looking at what has happened since 2003 where there were four African sides at the World Cup with 3 being really good/competitive sides it’s all been downhill since.
South Africa are losing players at an alarming rate and now are finishing near the bottom of the World Cup, Zimbabwe are on the verge of being expelled, Kenya are in WCL Div 3 and Namibia have only just got ODI status and have seen many other associates pass them by.
Cricket in Africa is really dying all over the continent
South Africa are losing players at an alarming rate and now are finishing near the bottom of the World Cup, Zimbabwe are on the verge of being expelled, Kenya are in WCL Div 3 and Namibia have only just got ODI status and have seen many other associates pass them by.
Cricket in Africa is really dying all over the continent
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The state of cricket in Zim and SA is closely linked to their economies, both are in tatters, especially ours. You guys outside have no idea what it’s like here, it’s an absolute disaster and there’s no way out. Zanu, like ZC will cling to power with everything they have, and similarly if they ever get replaced the incoming now have so little to work with that a turnaround is highly unlikely.
Here’s a good example- we’ve run out of wheat, wheat farmers urgently and desperately need electricity to irrigate or we have zip for next year, gov either doesn’t care or can’t do it. They won’t spend 80 million to save themselves double treble quadruple that next year. We’re dealing always with people who cannot see past tomorrow and are only in it for self gain.
Here’s a good example- we’ve run out of wheat, wheat farmers urgently and desperately need electricity to irrigate or we have zip for next year, gov either doesn’t care or can’t do it. They won’t spend 80 million to save themselves double treble quadruple that next year. We’re dealing always with people who cannot see past tomorrow and are only in it for self gain.
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Let me tell you the next calamity to befall us. No water!!!
So far we’ve had no currency for years, fuel shortages off and on for years, now no bread (and we know what happens in countries with no bread!), now worst of all is no electricity and with no solution for that.
The last nail is going to be no water, that’s coming fast here. Our water tables in Harare are finished through mismanagement and abuse and they haven’t built the additional dams they were supposed to near Harare and our existing dams can’t cope with the 4 million people now living here. The water is so toxic and completely unfit for human consumption and once again they can’t manage the purification. I’m not exaggerating this, watch to see what happens at the end of this dry season, it’s going to be a disaster. If it doesn’t rain and rain hard this coming season it’s going to be .... I don’t even have the word for it.
So far we’ve had no currency for years, fuel shortages off and on for years, now no bread (and we know what happens in countries with no bread!), now worst of all is no electricity and with no solution for that.
The last nail is going to be no water, that’s coming fast here. Our water tables in Harare are finished through mismanagement and abuse and they haven’t built the additional dams they were supposed to near Harare and our existing dams can’t cope with the 4 million people now living here. The water is so toxic and completely unfit for human consumption and once again they can’t manage the purification. I’m not exaggerating this, watch to see what happens at the end of this dry season, it’s going to be a disaster. If it doesn’t rain and rain hard this coming season it’s going to be .... I don’t even have the word for it.
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We live in a country with no money, no fuel, no water, no rain, no electricity and no food. 😂 and yet there are a substantial number of people that support this regime.
We’re headed for disaster here. I see Gov is tooling up to squash insurrection as well. Their new riot gear is show stopping and they’re practicing hard with it. There’s trouble coming.
We’re headed for disaster here. I see Gov is tooling up to squash insurrection as well. Their new riot gear is show stopping and they’re practicing hard with it. There’s trouble coming.
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And whilst this unfolds you’ll find MDC and Zanu in the same churches tomorrow, each praying for a different outcome, the irony and stupidity of that is completely lost on all of them.
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Interesting Take
Is they any evidence of the shooting in Marondera.
Bullet holes in cars, Windows etc
Is they any evidence of the shooting in Marondera.
Bullet holes in cars, Windows etc
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Does a video of shots being fired, people scurrying for cover and the policeman who fired the shots being named, count? There’s no way it was a sanctioned hit, they have trained people for that, this was amateurish.
The cop was over zealous and maybe thought he’d get a promotion. Without road blocks to line their pockets and Xmas round the corner things are tight for everybody 😂
The cop was over zealous and maybe thought he’d get a promotion. Without road blocks to line their pockets and Xmas round the corner things are tight for everybody 😂
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https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2019/1 ... -conflict/
A POWER struggle that threatened to tear cricket apart in Zimbabwe this year — courting an unprecedented ban on the country by the International Cricket Council (ICC) — evokes horrific memories of the dispute of 15 years ago when deep cracks, serious mistrust and underlying agendas exploded into the public view for the first time.
What had previously existed only as murmurs of discontentment within cliques over contracts, team selection and managerial issues would blow up into a bitter feud of gigantic proportions in 2004 — the axing of young black player Stuart Matsikenyeri from the national team’s line-up only a convenient scapegoat for a time bomb that had been waiting to go off.
Bangladesh were touring early 2004 and after the first two ODIs in Bulawayo were abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain, the five-match limited overs series moved to Harare, where the tourists beat the home side by three wickets in the third match to take a shock 1-0 lead.
An unusual result it was those days by the contrasting standards of both teams: Bangladesh, then the recognised minnows at the upper echelons of the game, and Zimbabwe, a dangerous underdog of world cricket at that time, well respected by opponents and opposing fans alike.
That Zimbabwe had easily defeated Bangladesh in all 10 previous ODI meetings between the two nations since 1997 was therefore fuel for conflict in an atmosphere already engulfed in tension.
Ozias Bvute, then an influential board member of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) later to become the association’s managing director, recalls how he was caught in the eye of the storm as chairman of an integration committee set up to strike racial balance in the game.
“I had a call one evening and (Takashinga Cricket Club official) Givemore Makoni and company were very upset because Zimbabwe was playing a series with Bangladesh and Stuart Matsikenyeri had been dropped from the team for supposedly costing the team the game,” Bvute says in an interview on a forthcoming book on the history of black cricket in Zimbabwe, co-authored by this writer.
“In protest, the non-white community wanted to boycott the next day saying that there was no way Matsikenyeri had been responsible for that loss. If anything I think he had 30 runs (he in fact scored 20), he had a run a ball so if he got a run-a-ball 30, why was he going to be the sacrificial lamb for the loss? It was not his problem. Someone else had to be dropped. Heath Streak was the captain at the time.
“So there was a threat and the threat was they (Makoni and crew) were going to dig up the pitch at the Harare Sports Club and no cricket would be played. I was called from my house at about seven or eight o’clock in the evening and they said ‘chairman, we have a problem. Tomorrow there’s going to be a strike and no one is going to be allowed to get onto the field of play’.
“So, as chairman, I went to ZC. Vince Hogg was MD. About seven or eight in the evening, I called Heath Streak and said ‘look, we have a political problem, just re-select your team’. He at that stage felt it was interference, but it wasn’t interference, there was a real issue and the issue was that the non-whites who made up the structures of cricket said they were going to dig up the pitch, and they meant it.
“You know, Makoni was younger, so they meant it — they were very, very upset. So in trying to balance, because if anything when I started I was trying to balance the equation, trying to keep these ones happy and pacify the others, letting it be a progressive affair, he (Streak) refused. Max (head of selectors Macsood Ebrahim) re-selected the team but Heath was very offended, he said ‘you are interfering, what do you know about cricket?’ And I said ‘but cricket isn’t only about you playing, it’s about people’s emotions, playing for their country’.”
As it happened, tempers cooled down a bit, and Matsikenyeri did not play in the fourth game, which Zimbabwe won by 14 runs to level the series.
Matsikenyeri returned for the last match and was dismissed for a duck, although Zimbabwe won the match by three wickets to clinch the series after all.
But the seed of animosity had already been sown, with a vicious row between the board and senior white players erupting in the aftermath of that series.
“It’s very political, so you balance it out and everybody is happy,” Bvute says, who left ZC in 2012.
“But he (Streak) felt he was a good player, he had the God-given right to decide who plays and it was his team, and the team was made up of brothers. There was the Flowers, the Strangs, the Rennies, the (cousins) Whittalls. It was a clique and less than 30 people made up that team and for Matsikenyeri to come in that team, they didn’t want him because the changing room was a very hostile place. Heath Streak re-selected the team, (but) they took offence and the next week they (15 senior white players) went on strike saying these are not goals, they are quotas, there is no fairness, blacks are being pushed into the team.
“At that stage, the relations degenerated because they were now being unreasonable and now they became a victim. Instead of dialogue, it got to the stage where they were no longer talking and they rebelled. Vince Hogg felt it was too much pressure, he resigned. I was asked to be acting MD because there was now a sensitive issue. We lost the sponsors, there was bad press, there were sanctions and even our own people, including yourself (this writer), were not supporting.
“They didn’t understand that what needed to happen was that as a country … it was in the early 2000s, the white community was migrating out of Zimbabwe because of land reform and number two, you cannot have a sport that is just played by 30 people. It’s not sustainable because if you look at it, there were five (sporting) provinces: five by 11 people, 55 people, 60 people, (so) your pool was from 65 people.
“A very small number of those were young people and undoubtedly what you can concede to, the white Rhodesians had sporting pedigree because they played … they went to privileged schools and were exposed to water polo, rugby, cricket, basketball, soccer.
Where your parents can afford for you to play you can develop and the only group of people who then developed in cricket were the whites because cricket was an expensive sport. Would you as a black person be able to leave home and play cricket all day? No, your parents wouldn’t allow it. Would you have money to even buy a bat? Because a bat was important. The idea was to bring as many people into this as possible and effectively wherever there is change, there’s conflict because you are changing the status quo. There was a lot of name-calling and people were just fighting, fighting and fighting.
“Ultimately, the objective was achieved and now it’s a cricket country and black Zimbabweans understand and love cricket. And how did that happen? Through the victimisation of Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute. But there was an idea and the idea was that people should play. For you to become a cricket writer, my efforts, it was my effort that enabled you to be a cricket writer.
“Through my revolution with my colleagues you got to know what cricket is and you got to write about it. Pommie (Supersport commentator and pundit Mpumelelo Mbangwa), I’m the one who said he must go on TV, he must be a commentator because you need black faces. Undoubtedly they’ve done well, haven’t they, but someone had to actually push for this to happen.”
l These are extracts from a chapter in the forthcoming book on the history of black cricket in Zimbabwe.
A POWER struggle that threatened to tear cricket apart in Zimbabwe this year — courting an unprecedented ban on the country by the International Cricket Council (ICC) — evokes horrific memories of the dispute of 15 years ago when deep cracks, serious mistrust and underlying agendas exploded into the public view for the first time.
What had previously existed only as murmurs of discontentment within cliques over contracts, team selection and managerial issues would blow up into a bitter feud of gigantic proportions in 2004 — the axing of young black player Stuart Matsikenyeri from the national team’s line-up only a convenient scapegoat for a time bomb that had been waiting to go off.
Bangladesh were touring early 2004 and after the first two ODIs in Bulawayo were abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain, the five-match limited overs series moved to Harare, where the tourists beat the home side by three wickets in the third match to take a shock 1-0 lead.
An unusual result it was those days by the contrasting standards of both teams: Bangladesh, then the recognised minnows at the upper echelons of the game, and Zimbabwe, a dangerous underdog of world cricket at that time, well respected by opponents and opposing fans alike.
That Zimbabwe had easily defeated Bangladesh in all 10 previous ODI meetings between the two nations since 1997 was therefore fuel for conflict in an atmosphere already engulfed in tension.
Ozias Bvute, then an influential board member of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) later to become the association’s managing director, recalls how he was caught in the eye of the storm as chairman of an integration committee set up to strike racial balance in the game.
“I had a call one evening and (Takashinga Cricket Club official) Givemore Makoni and company were very upset because Zimbabwe was playing a series with Bangladesh and Stuart Matsikenyeri had been dropped from the team for supposedly costing the team the game,” Bvute says in an interview on a forthcoming book on the history of black cricket in Zimbabwe, co-authored by this writer.
“In protest, the non-white community wanted to boycott the next day saying that there was no way Matsikenyeri had been responsible for that loss. If anything I think he had 30 runs (he in fact scored 20), he had a run a ball so if he got a run-a-ball 30, why was he going to be the sacrificial lamb for the loss? It was not his problem. Someone else had to be dropped. Heath Streak was the captain at the time.
“So there was a threat and the threat was they (Makoni and crew) were going to dig up the pitch at the Harare Sports Club and no cricket would be played. I was called from my house at about seven or eight o’clock in the evening and they said ‘chairman, we have a problem. Tomorrow there’s going to be a strike and no one is going to be allowed to get onto the field of play’.
“So, as chairman, I went to ZC. Vince Hogg was MD. About seven or eight in the evening, I called Heath Streak and said ‘look, we have a political problem, just re-select your team’. He at that stage felt it was interference, but it wasn’t interference, there was a real issue and the issue was that the non-whites who made up the structures of cricket said they were going to dig up the pitch, and they meant it.
“You know, Makoni was younger, so they meant it — they were very, very upset. So in trying to balance, because if anything when I started I was trying to balance the equation, trying to keep these ones happy and pacify the others, letting it be a progressive affair, he (Streak) refused. Max (head of selectors Macsood Ebrahim) re-selected the team but Heath was very offended, he said ‘you are interfering, what do you know about cricket?’ And I said ‘but cricket isn’t only about you playing, it’s about people’s emotions, playing for their country’.”
As it happened, tempers cooled down a bit, and Matsikenyeri did not play in the fourth game, which Zimbabwe won by 14 runs to level the series.
Matsikenyeri returned for the last match and was dismissed for a duck, although Zimbabwe won the match by three wickets to clinch the series after all.
But the seed of animosity had already been sown, with a vicious row between the board and senior white players erupting in the aftermath of that series.
“It’s very political, so you balance it out and everybody is happy,” Bvute says, who left ZC in 2012.
“But he (Streak) felt he was a good player, he had the God-given right to decide who plays and it was his team, and the team was made up of brothers. There was the Flowers, the Strangs, the Rennies, the (cousins) Whittalls. It was a clique and less than 30 people made up that team and for Matsikenyeri to come in that team, they didn’t want him because the changing room was a very hostile place. Heath Streak re-selected the team, (but) they took offence and the next week they (15 senior white players) went on strike saying these are not goals, they are quotas, there is no fairness, blacks are being pushed into the team.
“At that stage, the relations degenerated because they were now being unreasonable and now they became a victim. Instead of dialogue, it got to the stage where they were no longer talking and they rebelled. Vince Hogg felt it was too much pressure, he resigned. I was asked to be acting MD because there was now a sensitive issue. We lost the sponsors, there was bad press, there were sanctions and even our own people, including yourself (this writer), were not supporting.
“They didn’t understand that what needed to happen was that as a country … it was in the early 2000s, the white community was migrating out of Zimbabwe because of land reform and number two, you cannot have a sport that is just played by 30 people. It’s not sustainable because if you look at it, there were five (sporting) provinces: five by 11 people, 55 people, 60 people, (so) your pool was from 65 people.
“A very small number of those were young people and undoubtedly what you can concede to, the white Rhodesians had sporting pedigree because they played … they went to privileged schools and were exposed to water polo, rugby, cricket, basketball, soccer.
Where your parents can afford for you to play you can develop and the only group of people who then developed in cricket were the whites because cricket was an expensive sport. Would you as a black person be able to leave home and play cricket all day? No, your parents wouldn’t allow it. Would you have money to even buy a bat? Because a bat was important. The idea was to bring as many people into this as possible and effectively wherever there is change, there’s conflict because you are changing the status quo. There was a lot of name-calling and people were just fighting, fighting and fighting.
“Ultimately, the objective was achieved and now it’s a cricket country and black Zimbabweans understand and love cricket. And how did that happen? Through the victimisation of Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute. But there was an idea and the idea was that people should play. For you to become a cricket writer, my efforts, it was my effort that enabled you to be a cricket writer.
“Through my revolution with my colleagues you got to know what cricket is and you got to write about it. Pommie (Supersport commentator and pundit Mpumelelo Mbangwa), I’m the one who said he must go on TV, he must be a commentator because you need black faces. Undoubtedly they’ve done well, haven’t they, but someone had to actually push for this to happen.”
l These are extracts from a chapter in the forthcoming book on the history of black cricket in Zimbabwe.
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He actually thinks he’s a hero.
I’ve never heard of a black player being inspired by Matsi, or the dregs who have represented the shirt.
They were inspired by Taibu, Olonga, Elton (when young) and Hammy.
Blacks who succeeded and were succeeding in the ‘white’ days.
And you know, they are also inspired by BT, Williams, these guys. Believe it or not, black Zimbabweans can idolise/admire white Zimbabweans. On Facebook they are always paying tribute to Streak and the Flowers.
I’ve never heard of a black player being inspired by Matsi, or the dregs who have represented the shirt.
They were inspired by Taibu, Olonga, Elton (when young) and Hammy.
Blacks who succeeded and were succeeding in the ‘white’ days.
And you know, they are also inspired by BT, Williams, these guys. Believe it or not, black Zimbabweans can idolise/admire white Zimbabweans. On Facebook they are always paying tribute to Streak and the Flowers.
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Interestingly they ignored the fact that Stuey had been given a mountain of chances prior to that series & hadn't done anything really to claim rights to a spot in a very good side at that stage. I like Stuey & I felt his career was set back greatly by a number of reasons, he was a better player than his numbers suggest, but at that time it was clear they wanted him in the side at all costs.
The fact Makoni was going to dig up the pitch because Stuey was going to be left out shows he (Makoni) wasn't level headed enough to be involved in such high stakes professional sport, laughable now 15 years on he's been involved in ZC the whole time and held many high profile roles.
The fact which was ignored throughout this article is that the player they wanted to replace Stuey with was Mark Vermeulan, now at the time Rex had been in good form in recent months having a good tour of Aus and scoring a Test 100 v the Windies along with a couple of ODI 60's in match winning displays. It wasn't like he was being replaced by some unworthy white fella.
Looking back at Osais' claim that they brought the game to the wider community and have inspired black people to love, support and play the game is off the mark big time. Looking at the current state of affairs yes the large majority of domestic players are black, but looking at the national team at full strength there could be up to 8 non-black players in the side which is hardly a glowing reflection of the legacy they claim to have left.
The best crop of Black players who all came through together like Hami, Taibu, Vusi, Chigs, Tinashe and even Stuey would have all been 'inspired' by the Flower/Streak era which is ironic in itself.
The fact Makoni was going to dig up the pitch because Stuey was going to be left out shows he (Makoni) wasn't level headed enough to be involved in such high stakes professional sport, laughable now 15 years on he's been involved in ZC the whole time and held many high profile roles.
The fact which was ignored throughout this article is that the player they wanted to replace Stuey with was Mark Vermeulan, now at the time Rex had been in good form in recent months having a good tour of Aus and scoring a Test 100 v the Windies along with a couple of ODI 60's in match winning displays. It wasn't like he was being replaced by some unworthy white fella.
Looking back at Osais' claim that they brought the game to the wider community and have inspired black people to love, support and play the game is off the mark big time. Looking at the current state of affairs yes the large majority of domestic players are black, but looking at the national team at full strength there could be up to 8 non-black players in the side which is hardly a glowing reflection of the legacy they claim to have left.
The best crop of Black players who all came through together like Hami, Taibu, Vusi, Chigs, Tinashe and even Stuey would have all been 'inspired' by the Flower/Streak era which is ironic in itself.
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The game has not been brought to the masses at all. There are a handful of black guys that just so happen to outnumber the handful of white guys. Cricket still seems to have a meagre following in Zimbabwe. There would be as many black guys playing cricket now if ZC had done nothing towards affirmative action. The only thing it has achieved is driving white and asian players elsewhere. ZC improved the racial ratios but not the actual numbers.
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
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
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eugene wrote: ↑Sun Dec 08, 2019 11:17 pm
The game has not been brought to the masses at all. There are a handful of black guys that just so happen to outnumber the handful of white guys. Cricket still seems to have a meagre following in Zimbabwe. There would be as many black guys playing cricket now if ZC had done nothing towards affirmative action. The only thing it has achieved is driving white and asian players elsewhere. ZC improved the racial ratios but not the actual numbers.
That's the picture they're trying to paint though
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What inspires is success.
One of the only sports Zimbabwe could compete wit the best in.
It’s completely clear to zodiacs that results simply didn’t matter at all.
One of the only sports Zimbabwe could compete wit the best in.
It’s completely clear to zodiacs that results simply didn’t matter at all.
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Only Ozias could manage to make himself a bigger toss pot in his own words.
How is digging up the pitch in the best interests? I laughed so much when he was trying to say, It was not Matsis fault. Then he gets dropped and Zim win.
How also is the game with the masses when all we have is 4 domestic sides and no club cricket. Even if each side has 15 players. That is only 60 players. Less the pool we had under white administration.
Just the worst kind of people, and Hammy fought for them.
How is digging up the pitch in the best interests? I laughed so much when he was trying to say, It was not Matsis fault. Then he gets dropped and Zim win.
How also is the game with the masses when all we have is 4 domestic sides and no club cricket. Even if each side has 15 players. That is only 60 players. Less the pool we had under white administration.
Just the worst kind of people, and Hammy fought for them.
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ZIMDOGGY wrote: ↑Sun Dec 08, 2019 12:04 pm
He actually thinks he’s a hero.
Even Hitler thought he was a hero.
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Whoever wrote that is trying to claim that only 55 people played cricket 😂 now there’s only 80, what a win!!
The main thing was club cricket and there were realistically a couple of hundred adults that played a decent standard of cricket as amateurs and a lot more that played to a lower standard.
There’s a lot less players than that now so what they’ve really done is taken cricket away from the minority and now virtually nobody plays it at all unless they get given money for bus fare 😂
That war-cry of “now we’ve given cricket to the people” must be exposed for the outrageous lie that it is. In the year 2000 40 000 whites played a lot more cricket than 16 000 000 blacks do now.
Some guy like Makoni, Bvute or Chingoka trying to claim they’ve done good and left a legacy is contemptible. They’ve destroyed all cricket and hidden behind the “we’re bringing cricket to the people” horse-s**t lie so they can steal, that’s all. Incompetent, racist corrupt thieves, the whole lot of them. They may have believed in the cause up until the point they realized they could scoop some cash, which was on about day 2.
The story of white kids being able to afford sport is equally annoying. Most white kids went to the same government schools that all the black kids go to now. They all played cricket, thousands of them, and now nobody does. Governments didn’t run those schools, poor white people kept them going. Whites didn’t come here in their ox wagons with cricket kit heaped in the back,, they came here with nothing and built a beautiful country in 50 years. In the last 40 years (almost the same amount of time) most of what was created has been smashed beyond repair and if you can name me one thing, just one, that has been done well I will keep quiet.
Black folk took over with everything working just fine and they have broken every single last thing. We built this country under the harshest sanctions imaginable, personal sanctions targeting 30 people are now to blame for us being a failed state. There is absolutely no proper excuse for what they’ve done except for stupidity, greed and incompetence.
The main thing was club cricket and there were realistically a couple of hundred adults that played a decent standard of cricket as amateurs and a lot more that played to a lower standard.
There’s a lot less players than that now so what they’ve really done is taken cricket away from the minority and now virtually nobody plays it at all unless they get given money for bus fare 😂
That war-cry of “now we’ve given cricket to the people” must be exposed for the outrageous lie that it is. In the year 2000 40 000 whites played a lot more cricket than 16 000 000 blacks do now.
Some guy like Makoni, Bvute or Chingoka trying to claim they’ve done good and left a legacy is contemptible. They’ve destroyed all cricket and hidden behind the “we’re bringing cricket to the people” horse-s**t lie so they can steal, that’s all. Incompetent, racist corrupt thieves, the whole lot of them. They may have believed in the cause up until the point they realized they could scoop some cash, which was on about day 2.
The story of white kids being able to afford sport is equally annoying. Most white kids went to the same government schools that all the black kids go to now. They all played cricket, thousands of them, and now nobody does. Governments didn’t run those schools, poor white people kept them going. Whites didn’t come here in their ox wagons with cricket kit heaped in the back,, they came here with nothing and built a beautiful country in 50 years. In the last 40 years (almost the same amount of time) most of what was created has been smashed beyond repair and if you can name me one thing, just one, that has been done well I will keep quiet.
Black folk took over with everything working just fine and they have broken every single last thing. We built this country under the harshest sanctions imaginable, personal sanctions targeting 30 people are now to blame for us being a failed state. There is absolutely no proper excuse for what they’ve done except for stupidity, greed and incompetence.
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eugene wrote: ↑Sun Dec 08, 2019 11:17 pm
The game has not been brought to the masses at all. There are a handful of black guys that just so happen to outnumber the handful of white guys. Cricket still seems to have a meagre following in Zimbabwe. There would be as many black guys playing cricket now if ZC had done nothing towards affirmative action. The only thing it has achieved is driving white and asian players elsewhere. ZC improved the racial ratios but not the actual numbers.
I think what he meant was in terms of citizen interest. Cricket is statistically speaking the second most popular sport in Zim now.
That is a start because the first thing you need to do is create the dream. The likes of Hami and taibu and Elton and maybe recently Blessing have shown you can make something of yourself playing cricket but the quota system is the wrong way to do it. Investing in random rural schools also will not do the trick.
With the limited resources they have they should invest heavily in a select few black dominated government schools with a rich sports history. Churchill and Prince Edward would be a couple of my picks. They should scout talent all over and send potential kids on scholarships there. Put real infrastructure there and pay good quality coaches. They will eventually produce talent. Transformation should not be an overnight process that is where they missed the trick. Unfortunately sports like cricket and golf don't usually produce random talents from the middle of nowhere. Thousands of hours of practice are needed to get anywhere near international quality
I don't think any of that matters anymore anyway because there arent enough white players in the system anymore anyway. Look at the u19 team. The economy has done all the hard work for ZC.
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jaybro wrote: ↑Sun Dec 08, 2019 10:24 pm
Interestingly they ignored the fact that Stuey had been given a mountain of chances prior to that series & hadn't done anything really to claim rights to a spot in a very good side at that stage. I like Stuey & I felt his career was set back greatly by a number of reasons, he was a better player than his numbers suggest, but at that time it was clear they wanted him in the side at all costs.
The fact Makoni was going to dig up the pitch because Stuey was going to be left out shows he (Makoni) wasn't level headed enough to be involved in such high stakes professional sport, laughable now 15 years on he's been involved in ZC the whole time and held many high profile roles.
The fact which was ignored throughout this article is that the player they wanted to replace Stuey with was Mark Vermeulan, now at the time Rex had been in good form in recent months having a good tour of Aus and scoring a Test 100 v the Windies along with a couple of ODI 60's in match winning displays. It wasn't like he was being replaced by some unworthy white fella.
Looking back at Osais' claim that they brought the game to the wider community and have inspired black people to love, support and play the game is off the mark big time. Looking at the current state of affairs yes the large majority of domestic players are black, but looking at the national team at full strength there could be up to 8 non-black players in the side which is hardly a glowing reflection of the legacy they claim to have left.
The best crop of Black players who all came through together like Hami, Taibu, Vusi, Chigs, Tinashe and even Stuey would have all been 'inspired' by the Flower/Streak era which is ironic in itself.
The smart thing to do in that situation would have been to drop Dion Ebrahim. It's not like he was setting the world on fire anyway. In fact the likes of Stuey Vusi and Elton all ended up with better averages than him
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TapsC wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 8:05 am
I think what he meant was in terms of citizen interest. Cricket is statistically speaking the second most popular sport in Zim now.
I don't buy this. I remember the Tri-Series with West Indies and India where HSC had sell out ground. Even the series against England was super busy. I remember a few other series that were drawing huge crowds. I don't think the fans cared too much whether the people in the kit were white, black, blue, orange...just as long as they were Zim and Zim had an opportunity to win.
I remember sell out crazy packed stadiums at the Showgrounds for the Davis Cup, which had an all white team. The match against Chile was truly memorable. The Black brothers won the doubles after an intense game and that stadium went berserk. There was no issue of colour. The fans couldn't care less. I saw a big african guy crying when Zim won that tie.
The narrative of black people are suffering has been peddled by those doing it and that is where it is now seeping in on the idea of black empowerment.
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