The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : All-black team symbolises Zimbabwe crisis

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Monday, Apr 12, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

All-black team symbolises Zimbabwe crisis

HARARE, APRIL 11. Zimbabwe's premier provincial cricket team Mashonaland, which is usually stuffed with Test players, was taking the field this weekend with an all-black eleven for the first time in its more than 100-year history.

In normal circumstances, and maybe in a few years' time, this might be a reason to rejoice here, but it actually forebodes disaster for the sport in Zimbabwe this week.

The lack of whites in the Mashonaland side is the result of a boycott by four senior national cricketers of this premier inter-provincial team for its first-class match against Midlands in the central town of Kwekwe. Another senior player was dropped by the Mashonaland selectors.

The boycott was the first direct consequence of the simmering crisis over the ousting of national captain Heath Streak, which has split cricket here along racial lines.

Despite being instructed to play by Zimbabwe Cricket Union director Ozias Bvute, spin bowler Ray Price, all-rounders Sean Ervine and Travis Friend and senior batsman Craig Wishart all failed to show up for the first-class match. Andy Blignaut, who is the fittest and the best bowler in the country after Streak, was left out by the Mashonaland selectors.

Blignaut had joined Grant Flower and lawyer Chris Venturas in support of Streak at their lengthy crisis meeting with the ZCU chairman Peter Chingoka, chief executive Vince Hogg and three directors on Thursday.

At that meeting the ZCU refused to reinstate Streak as captain, though he was offered the opportunity to continue his career as a player only. Phone lines to his ranch were down on Sunday and no comment was available.

Flower and Blignaut will report back to the ZCU on Tuesday with the response of their fellow white Test cricketers to this decision.

Hogg said: ``I have to say I fear the worst.'' That would be a mass walk-out on contracts, including by Flower, Blignaut, Price, Ervine, Friend, Mark Vermeulen, Gary Brent, Barney Rogers, Stuart Carlisle and Trevor Gripper.

If this happens, they would turn their backs on Test and international careers, leaving the selectors to choose from a pool of black players, most without international experience. — AFP

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