End the strike - for the good of the game

Heath Streak: time to come in from the cold © Getty Images Enlarge

The one thing that hasn't changed is that the remaining rebel players are still fighting their corner - the difference is that few people are listening any more. Some of the original 15 have gone abroad; others have drifted back into playing for their provincial and club sides. Only a handful remain steadfast.

They argue that their cause is just and that they will continue to fight on. But their effectiveness weakens by the day and, however right they might be, almost nobody is listening. That particular show has left town. The story has all the appeal of Al Gore continuing to rail against the 2000 US election result.

So what do the rebels do now? The ICC's recommendations to the Zimbabwe Cricket Union may have little chance of being implemented, but the way to continue to fight is from within, and therein lies the only real chance of any of them being followed up. The ICC actually supported many of the less publicised issues raised by the players, but the headlines were all about the overall outcome of the racism enquiry.

But now it's time the players took stock, swallowed some pride, and went back to work. So much water has passed under the bridge and so much said that the decision won't be easy for them. But for the sake of Zimbabwe cricket, they have no other choice.

The ZCU has repeatedly said that it is serious about welcoming the rebels back into the fold. Peter Chingoka, the ZCU's chairman, might not pull all the strings of the board, but he is their public face and he has gone out of his way to say that anyone who wants to come back can do so. Although their return has to be unconditional, it will ensure that some of the ICC's recommendations - on player representation etc - have to be acted upon.

By agreeing to make themselves available for selection, the remaining rebels can ensure that they can continue to have a voice inside the game, and their presence should act as a check on what the ICC described as the aggressiveness of the "younger and more enthusiastic people" on the board. The excesses of some aspects of the ZCU's operations will be harder to hide, and most importantly, the rebels could not be dismissed as embittered outsiders. They will also have the full support of the Professional Cricketers Association.

The rebels have Zimbabwean cricket at their hearts, and they have played for years for scant reward compared with international players in many other countries. For all the bullish talk from within the ZCU, the current crop of youngsters needs some old hands to bolster the side. There is talent there, but it risks being crushed under the weight of endless drubbings.

The man at the centre of the storm, Heath Streak, is as committed to Zimbabwe and its future as anyone. In an interview in London's Observer newspaper at the weekend he admitted that he has no plans to move away from Zimbabwe , adding: "I'd like my children to grow up here." He took his stand for what he believed, and he did bring to the world's attention to the behaviour of the ZCU. A return to playing should not be seen as a climbdown.

The future of Zimbabwe is as a multi-racial society where blacks and whites work alongside each other. The regime of Robert Mugabe will not last forever - that kind of dictatorship never does - and what matters in the short term is keeping the flame of cricket burning.

For all the claims gushing out of the ZCU, the reality is that the game is in danger of being snuffed out because of the political influences blighting almost every decision. It falls on Streak and his supporters to once again make a personal sacrifice and to go back to work, and keep the game in Zimbabwe alive for that next generation.

Martin Williamson is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo.