Give back cricket to its owners By Trevor Makonyonga On Tuesday, December 2 2014, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) Chairman Mr. Wilson Manase addressed a press conference at the ZC offices in Highlands Harare after the pathetic and dismal performance by the Zimbabwe touring team to Bangladesh. Manase had a lot expected of him prior to this conference key among the list of expectations being the future of Coach Steve Mangongo and chief convenor of selectors Givemore Makoni. These two are widely viewed as the biggest causes of failure by the team to perform. Mangongo and Makoni have over the past few months been subject to criticism over their gross misconduct of duty. First was Givemore Makoni who publicly attacked one of the best batsmen in first-class cricket, Robertson Chinyengetere. Makoni publicly attacked the player calling him names on facebook which was an unfortunate unprofessional incident. It was expected that he was going to at least apologise but nothing was said by both Makoni and ZC regarding this intolerably inappropriate behaviour. Then came to the coach himself; Mr Steven Mangongo. A man who led an embarrassing army to a pathetic showcase that left many fans wondering if the troops were ever ready to go for battle. This is the same man who was involved in an issue were he is said to have attacked spin bowler, Natsai Mshangwe. He is the same man who dropped Tinashe Panyangara for sending a video of Mitchell Johnson’s bowling action. He also dropped Sean Williams from the touring squad to Bangladesh. Above all, his team only managed to score 200 once in the 5 match ODI series in Bangladesh. After the above scenarios, Wilson Manase didn’t seem to consider all those ills by his technical team but instead seemed as if he was blaming the humiliating 5-0 whitewash on the players. Manase said he expected the players to write reports on the happenings in Bangladesh. What reports are essential when the entire nation saw how we performed. Under normal circumstances the report by the coach alone who be suffice but question is why drag the players into administrative issues? Manase also said that the players had to be patient on remuneration and that he was getting nothing from being Chairman of ZC. Here is a thought that probably didn’t cross his mind before saying that. The moment a cricket player steps on the pitch, he carries the name of the team he represents. His personal humiliation will also be enough to represent the whole team. Not paying the players adequately will mean bad performances throughout. Bad remuneration coupled with bad administration means bad results. For Mangongo to suggest that Zimbabwe lost to Hong Kong before he came is not enough an excuse. He has already proved that he is content with the situation and is admitting that he is not able to change the situation so why should he be kept in charge of the team? His team won against Australia but that doesn’t necessarily make him the best. He still lost 5-0 to Bangladesh. He is not ready for the big stage. There is an old saying that a bad carpenter always blames his tools. The financial troubles at ZC have existed for some time now but never since 2004 has there been a humiliating year like 2014. There is an obvious need to motivate the players so that they will perform better. ZC is a big institution that carries some form of dignity being a national sporting board and as such should not struggle for sponsors. The failure to attract sponsors proves that something is definitely not right within the organisation. The leadership of Ozias Bvute and Peter Chingoka scared away existing and potential sponsors. Such sponsors as Nissan, Croco Motors and Stanbic among others walked away leaving the sport needing urgent recuperation. There is an obvious need to bring in people with knowledge of the sport and good administration skills. As it is, the sport is being strangled by administrators who do not understand the simplest thing about how to retain and maintain talent. The sport is run by people with different agendas from the entire cricketing nation; an agenda yet to be known. Administrators who refuse an International Cricket Council bailout plan that was able to resuscitate the game within a few years! The same administrators who blindly give promises that the finances of the game will tick in 4-5 years time! The kind of administrators who threaten players and blame players after defeats! A total change in the system is important and only a properly functioning Ministry of Sport can solve this mess. The fans want their cricket back. The writer writes in his own capacity. His view and opinion is entirely subjected to him as an individual.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 05:38:01 +0000