No surprises in store in Bulawayo

Zimbabwe Cricket hold their annual general meeting at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday, the first time the meeting has been held outside Harare.

The Peter Chingoka led executive still has one more year to serve after the constitution was changed last year to give the board a two-year term. Lovemore Banda, the ZC spokesperson, told the local Sunday News that it is merely a routine meeting and there will be no elections for the board.

Ozias Bvute ceased to be a board member when he assumed the post of managing director early this year and has to be replaced, together with former Midlands Cricket Association chairman Hemant Patel who stepped down from the board a few months after he had replaced Mike Moyo. But Banda said the board appointments are done in terms of the constitution and have got nothing to do with the AGM.

Banda also made a surprising revelation that Clive Barnes, a former headmaster at Prince Edward in Harare now based in Mauritius, is still a Zimbabwe Cricket board member. Banda told the Sunday News that Barnes was kept on the board for his expertise and still attends all board meetings.

The only election to take place at the meeting is that of the national team selectors. At the moment, the panel is made up of convener Macsood Ebrahim, former Rhodesian left-arm spinner Richard Kaschula, and former Matabeleland and Zimbabwe A medium-pace bowler Ethan Dube. Since Kaschula and Dube came on board in August last year, they have added some respect to the selection process that was over the years done on a regional basis.

It is still not yet clear how many selectors will be elected. Initially there were four, but only three have been selecting the team of late after the fourth member of the panel, Stephen Mangongo, was suspended by Zimbabwe Cricket. He has, however, has since bounced back as national coach Kevin Curran's assistant.