Zimbabwe Cricket face suspension for political interference

All is not well for Zimbabwe cricket by any means. The national team is currently in Ireland, playing a three-match ODI series followed by a three-game T20I series. Last month, their entire cricket board was suspended by the Zimbabwean government’s sports and recreation commission. Rather, an interim committee, contravening ICC rules prohibiting political interference in its members, was appointed.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting is set to take place in London after the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup and it’s unclear who’ll represent the board during the meeting. Their state of cricket has been abysmal, to say the least. As a full member of the ICC, Zimbabwe receive about nine million pounds in a year, but they have been marred by severe financial problems over quite some time.

More troubles for Zimbabwe Cricket

Now it has been learned that Zimbabwe Cricket could be suspended at this year’s ICC conference owing to political interference as per reports in The Telegraph. If their cricket is suspended then the participation of their men’s and women’s teams in the qualification tournaments for the next Twenty20 World Cup – the women’s qualifiers begin in August and the men’s in October – would be in jeopardy.

However, it appears that the programme of their fixtures would continue because of a desire from players not to suffer from administrative problems. In recent time, even the USA and Nepal have been suspended but were permitted to continue playing while the ICC were in temporary control of the game. If Zimbabwe cricket gets banned, their board would receive no money for the duration of the ban.

However, the ICC would continue funding their cricket. Last week, the women’s team pulled out from the Ireland tour, citing lack of finances. Gerald Mlotshwa, the chairman of the sports and recreation commission, has complained that the staff hasn’t returned to work since suspending the board of Zimbabwe Cricket. Their abject state of cricket is also pretty much evident on the field of play.

Last year, they narrowly failed to qualify for the World Cup, losing to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after which their head coach, captain and chief selector were sacked. Recently, the team lost to the Netherlands 2-0 in an ODI series. Even versus the Irishmen, Zimbabwe is trailing the three-match series 2-0 with one match remaining on July 7 at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast.