By GUTHRIE MUNYUKI
THE decision by the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to pull stumps on the scheduled tour of Zimbabwe smacks of a hidden agenda that has sadly deprived ordinary cricket loving locals a chance to see one the world’s decent teams in action.
NZC announced Monday that they want to postpone their tour or reschedule it to June 2011.
Chief executive officer Justin Vaughan said they consider Zimbabwe an unsuitable place to send their cricket side, but was open to the tour being played at a neutral venue.
He said: "The collapse of the Zimbabwe’s health system and the general unstable environment are the primary reasons for the cricket tour’s postponement.
"It was a decision made with the government but we are looking at other options like playing the tour at a neutral venue, most likely South Africa."
The decision by the Kiwis comes at a time when the Zimbabwe cricket team is showing huge signs of coming out of the black hole that it slipped into six years ago.
A lot of resources and time have been invested into the revival of the game and the metamorphosis that the national side has been going through has not been lost on the harshest critics of the game whose rare approval of its improvement is not lost on Zimbabweans.
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has worked its socks off to reconcile and unite with those it lost along the way.
Former captain Heath Streak, now the bowling coach, and other high profile former players, have returned to the game, helping restructure Zimbabwean cricket so that the country regains its lost lustre.
Grudges and suspicions have been swept aside by the strong foundation of oneness that the national side has shown lately.
Even the international press, while noting what they see as slow pace to long term recovery, has given plaudits to both the ZC and the players in their efforts to return the cricket side to Test Cricket.
This is why the tour of New Zealand was viewed as yet another chance to gauge our improvement and work on the existing frailties within the Zimbabwe cricket team.
It is the right of the Kiwis to cancel any tour they feel does not match their expectations.
However, it is not their right to tell us a lie that the situation in Zimbabwe is unstable, that the health system has crumbled and therefore they would rather have the tour in a neutral venue.
This borders on evil.
The decision shows a diabolical and total disregard for the people of Zimbabwe and the majority who love this sport.
What too does that say of the countries that have decided to tour Zimbabwe and have done so over the last five years? Are their safety assessments of a lesser standard than those used in New Zealand? The assumption smacks of arrogance.
Everyone else except the Kiwis knows that there have been significant changes to the social, economic and political environment in Zimbabwe since the formation of the inclusive government on February 13, 2009.
Health care has improved in major hospitals, food has returned to the supermarket shelves and there has been a cessation of violence in most areas that were hotbeds of political violence between 2000 and 2008.
On hospital concerns, the ordinary might not afford the high fees charged by the private hospitals whose facilities are still world class.
Violence has dissipated as most of it was associated with elections and politics.
There is belief that Zimbabwe can make a u-turn on the political precipice it was facing before the formation of the inclusive government.
While these developments are positive, as Zimbabweans, we demand more but surely we don’t expect the current environment to be labelled unstable and insecure!
Yes, strident critics of Zimbabwe have said there have been changes in Zimbabwe although they remain worried by President Robert Mugabe’s stay in office.
That Mugabe remains ensconced in office does not mean that Zimbabwe has remained mired in quagmire; neither does it show us as a people who have taken several steps backwards.
Mugabe’s issue is best left to the electorate which shall deal with that specific item at the appointed time.
Against this background, it is hard to fathom any other reason why Vaughan and the Kiwis see what no-one else has not seen with regards to their security and health.
The fact that their tour should have been undertaken last year but was moved to this year is a clear indictment on the Kiwis’ construction of the Zimbabwean picture.
The shifting of stumps by the Kiwis is quite like placing sanctions on the cricket fans.
It is not ZC that loses but the ordinary Zimbabweans who long to see their team mixing it with the world’s big boys once again.
Vaughan’s utterances dovetail into the long-held view by the foreign press which sees negative things coming out of Africa.
Recently, the foreign media has been awash with negative stories on South Africa’s suitability of hosting a peaceful World Cup over alleged security concerns.
While India, Australia, Bangladesh, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Namibia and Kenya have noted significant improvements in both the political situation and game structures, the Kiwis and England have remained intransigent.
Most of these cricket powerhouses have either mooted tours or are yet to finalise details of possible tour of Zimbabwe and/ or vice versa.
Even the Kiwis themselves have not found an excuse relating to the field and that’s heartening.
It is a fact that we are improving and cannot, therefore, be dismissed on that basis.
The ZC must use situations like this snub by the NZC to bolster their efforts and put a seal on their abilities.
The domestic structures appear to be in excellent state and even their consistent critics over the years are beginning to mellow as a result of the work that is being put into the game.
It is important that the ZC remain focussed on its target of pushing for a sensational return to test cricket within 18-24 months. That is achievable and one needs to look at the Twenty 20 tourney that the local sides participated in last month. Swelling crowds and corporate interest which was quite evident are almost certainly a harbinger of things to come! – newzimbabwe.com
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