The Possible Death Of World Cricket

[british bulldog]

The chances of England fulfilling their World Cup fixture in Harare on February 13th seem to be receding as the clock ticks on, but after another day of confusion verging on fiasco, nobody can be absolutely sure what will happen. What is certain is that the already fragile structure of the game will end the day in worse repair than it started.

It all began with Zimbabwean stalwarts Andy Flower and Henry Olonga issuing a statement prior to Zimbabwe's match against Namibia stating that they would be wearing black armbands for the duration of the World Cup "in mourning for the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe." The repercussions for these two players could be immense. Both will be asked not to wear the black arm bands in future games, and if so I can see Andy Flower, the greatest player to come out of Zimbabwe to stick it up their arses and not play again. Yesterday could have been his farewell game. What the future holds for them in their native homeland is frightening. If their own players can see there is a problem, why can't the ICC? Simple, they don't want to be seen doing anything to rock the boat. I ask you, the whole saga sucks. The ICC have witheld information or not presented the whole facts, what sort of gouverning body is that?

It has been suggested that they might have been speaking on behalf of the entire team but that, symbolically, one white and one black member alone put their signatures to the statement. Whether they were acting alone or on behalf oftheir colleagues, it was a very brave ? or foolhardy ? gesture that deserves the greatest admiration from everyone around the world. When Andy Flower returns this summer to England to play county cricket, I will go out of my way to speak to him and praise and thank him and his colleague for their actions.

Meanwhile, the ICC had asked South Africa's second ranking police officer, Deputy National Commissioner Andre Pruis to investigate just how seriously they should regard the death threats to the England players and their families issued by an organisation calling itself The Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe. It goes without saying that the ECB and the players took the threats very seriously.

However, the deputy commissioner reported with alacrity so that the ICC could inform ECB, "We have been assured by the Deputy National Commissioner of the South African Police Service that the letter from the Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe does not pose a credible threat to the safety of the England party in Zimbabwe. Accordingly, we have passed that advice to the ECB and asked them to confirm their intentions to the ICC today."

Issued at 4 pm GMT, it read, "The ECB wishes to clarify that we have not said that we are refusing to go to Zimbabwe. We asked the ICC to move the match to a safe location outside of Zimbabwe on the grounds of safety and security. We would also like to draw attention to the fact that in the letter the ICC has released to the media this afternoon, the ICC clearly states it is still awaiting a final decision from the ECB on this matter."

That brought the response from the ICC, "The ICC has confirmed receipt of a letter this afternoon from the England & Wales Cricket Board, in response to the ICC's request for a final decision on whether the ECB intends to meet its commitments to play in Harare on February 13.

"This letter neither confirms nor denies that intention, and at this point the ICC remains unclear if the England team will play in Harare on Thursday of this week. The ECB has requested a meeting with ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed, this evening, to discuss the matter further."

Those discussions went on and the ECB called a press conference late in the day at which Nasser Hussain, the captain, was in an emotional state as he described the mood of the players on Sunday. He effectively said that the decision has been taken away from them and is now in the ECB's hands, much to their relief.

Chief executive Tim Lamb then read a statement which revealed that the threatening group, the Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe, has been heard of before ? in direct contradiction of what Commissioner Pruis has stated earlier ?and that consequently the ECB had written to the ICC saying that they did not believe it was reasonable to expect the team to go to Zimbabwe in these circumstances. A reply is awaited tomorrow morning when it is to be hoped that this chapter of a sorry saga will reach some sort of conclusion.

Add to all of this the idea coming from New Zealand that the last has not been heard of their decision not to play in Nairobi and the ICC is not enjoying one of the more glorious moments in its history. It is faced with a growing list of potential legal actions, the prospect of enormous financial losses and a possible split in world cricket that could signal the end of the organisation as a credible governing body. I feel along with many that this credibility has long gone.

What is baffling is Australia's stance on all of this, first they aren't playing, then it's maybe. They forget that they cancelled a tour to Zimbabwe less than six months ago, the players and ACB saying that it was unsafe. What's changed. Nothing, accept if Australia win all their matches before this schduled fixture, then they won't play. If they have lost to either Pakistan and / or India then you can bet your last dollar that they will play. So much for their crest which pictates a Kangaroo and Emu, both animals stating Australia motto "no step backwards". Well if they play Zimbabwe, thats going back.

It is not a comfortable position for the ICC, nor is it to the benefit of cricket as a whole. It is easy to apportion blame for this sorry state, but rather more difficult to come up with a sensible solution.

 

[crookycymru]

Good speech Bulldog. The whole thing is one sad fiasco. It should never have been allowed to drag into the World Cup. This should have been sorted before the South Africa-Windies game on Sunday.

The tournament should have been cancelled as a whole, or moved to South Africa. It pisses me off a little that we jump into Iraq to take out Saddam, yet we allow another dictatorship to rumble a little closer to home.

I believe the delay in Englands decision is more to do with contractual obligations on behalf of the players, rather than any political stance they decide on. It is simple to say that if they do not do what their contract asks them to do, then they do not get paid, so I think this has a little more to do with it than fears for their safety.

The whole thing is a one big mess, and is wrongly detracting all the attention away from what is happening on the pitch. Credit to South Africa and the West Indies for providing us with a thrilling match, that can at least get us talking about things that are happening on the pitch, and these are things that we should be talking about.

 

[british bulldog]

I agree it's a sporting specticle.

If I was a player and received death threats, I don't think it is right to play. At the end of the day, it is only a sport, we all have families and loved ones.

If England don't play, then I don't expect Zimbabwe to tour here this summer, and I also feel South Africa would not tour also on political grounds. If that is the case, then all countries linked to the commonwealth, and that's the majority of international teams, will not play Zimbabwe because of the wide spread killings that are allowed to take place. If South Africa still want to take up their stance, then they also will be left once more in exile, and cricket returns to pre 1980's again.

Here is an extract from Andy Flower, Zimbabwe cricketer.

Two of Zimbabwe's top cricketers said Monday they will wear black arm bands throughout their World Cup matches to protest human rights abuses, state-sanctioned torture, mass hunger and the "death of democracy" in their southern African country.

"It is impossible to ignore what is happening in Zimbabwe. Although we are just professional cricketers, we do have a conscience and feelings," said Andy Flower, rated the world's 12th best batsman, and fast bowler Henry Olonga.

The holding of six World Cup matches in Zimbabwe, which is suffering under the increasingly authoritarian regime of President Robert Mugabe, has caused huge controversy, with the British and Australian governments urging their cricketers to boycott the matches.

As of Monday, both teams were still scheduled to play here.

"We have struggled to think of an action that would be appropriate and that would not demean the game we love so much," Flower and Olonga said, in a statement issued Monday morning before their first World Cup match against Namibia.

"We believe that if we remain silent that will be taken as a sign that either we do not care or we condone what is happening in Zimbabwe. We believe it is important to stand up for what is right."

In wearing the black arm bands "we are mourning the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe. We pray our small action may help restore sanity and dignity to our nation," they said.

The two cricketers said they were protesting "in a dignified manner and in keeping with the spirit of cricket," and were acting alone.

"We have decided we should act alone without other members of the team being involved because our decision is deeply personal and we did not want to use our senior status to unfairly influence more junior members of the squad," they said.

Independent human rights groups have accused the police of bias toward Mugabe's ruling party, torture, carrying out unlawful arrests and failing to restore law and order during seizures of white-owned farms since March 2000.

Disruptions to the agriculture-based economy have led to acute shortages of food, fuel and essential imports.

The World Food Program estimates 7.2 million people, more than half the population, face hunger.

"We are aware that hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans may even die in the coming months through a combination of starvation, poverty and AIDS," the two cricketers said.

They said many people have been unjustly imprisoned and tortured ``simply for expressing their opinions about what is happened in the country."

"We have heard a torrent of racist hate speech directed at minority groups," said Flower, who is white, and Olonga, who is black.

"We are aware that people have been murdered, raped, beaten and had their homes destroyed because of their beliefs and many of those responsible have not been prosecuted," they said.

"We are also aware that many patriotic Zimbabweans oppose us even playing in the World Cup because of what is happening," they said.

Opponents of the Zimbabwe fixtures say guarantees on the security and safety measures for players ? accepted by the International Cricket Council ? are overshadowed by political concerns over the propaganda value and credibility the matches lend to the government.

Zimbabwe police warned Saturday they will not tolerate demonstrations or political sloganeering meant to disrupt the matches.

Senior police official Albert Mandizha, head of security for the six Zimbabwe matches, said measures were necessary "to weed out would-be trouble makers and other social misfits" opposed to the matches here.

An organization calling itself Cricket Supporters for Democracy has urged spectators "to show solidarity with the rest of our suffering Zimbabweans" by wearing black and white clothing or a black arm band and carrying red cloth to honour the victims of political violence.

I think this nearly says it all.

Gareth, I am sure an ex-rugby player and several others refused to play a game overseas on the grounds of "they feared for their safety" after receiving threats. They were taken to court by their gouverning body for return of financial gain from tour, and to repay fine impossed on said gouverning body.

The players won the case, and their is an international law that allows sportspeople not to compete if they feel / fear for theirs or others safety. So the ECB are aware of this as the initial papers were filed at the high court early last week on behalf of the players.