Investigation into Zimbabwe cricket problems

Government will not dissolve the Zimbabwe Cricket board, but has ordered the Sports Commission to launch investigations into problems which could be plaguing the country's second biggest sporting discipline.

Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kazembe Kazembe said Government was worried by the controversy triggered by the sacking of national team head coach Heath Streak and the failure by the national team to qualify for next year's World Cup.

The Ministry yesterday summoned the ZC board and the SRC to an indaba in Harare yesterday.

"The main reason why we called for the meeting was simply to have an appreciation from their side of what is really going on. Obviously, as Government, we are concerned,'' said Kazembe.

"We obviously were not happy, all of us, the entire nation, with the results of the World Cup qualifiers but that's how the game is played — you win, you lose and you can draw.

"That's not the major reason why we called them. But it's the incidents after the World Cup qualifiers where we saw them firing the entire technical staff and then rehiring the technical staff and then firing it again.

"In the interest of the nation we got perturbed. We wanted to hear what was really going on and they gave us their side of the story, they gave us a comprehensive report and we also had summoned the SRC so that we could discuss this issue together.

"We will look at it as a ministry and see how best we can advise them to go forward in the interest of the nation.

"However, the discussions were not conclusive so we left it in the hands of the SRC because as you would appreciate, ZC is subordinate to SRC.

"So the SRC are going to sit and deliberate on the issues that have been discussed and see how best they can be dealt with," said Kazembe.

The ZC board have come under siege from external forces, who include former Minister of Sports David Coltart and Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa, who have called for either the resignation of the leadership or Government's intervention to dissolve the board.

Mliswa last week gave the ZC board until tomorrow to resign or they would form parallel structures.

But Kazembe yesterday appealed for order.

"When we talk of Zimbabwe Cricket we are talking of a game that the entire nation wants known what's happening around it. So, we will definitely ensure that the issues are resolved as soon as possible and normalcy returns.

"The ZC board have given us assurances that they are on top of the game and they are addressing all the issues that have been affecting the game of late.

"So we are hopeful but we will also keep our eyes open and we will also try and advise in the interest of the nation.

"It's a sad patch but I'm sure ZC, SRC and ourselves will be back on our feet again because we want to see cricket developing the way the nation expects it to develop.

"What we should avoid is a knee-jerk reaction. We should try and find out the root causes of the problems our cricket is facing.

"There is always a danger of reacting to symptoms so we will take our time and investigate the issues surrounding the game and then we make a decision from there," said Kazembe.