Battling on despite the hardships

Finding out what is happening in any walk of life inside Zimbabwe is getting harder by the day, and cricket is no exception. Foreign journalists are rarely permitted to enter the country, and few local reporters are still working - those that remain write for outlets vigorously policed by the state.

The only exposure cricket gets is when the national side plays. Outside that, the government-controlled Herald newspaper covers some local matches, but more often than not its reports are provided by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC).

In the aftermath of the World Cup, it was well publicised that Zimbabwe received approximately US$ 11 million from the ICC, and questions were inevitably raised as to how that sum was being spent, given the relatively few matches played by the team - they remain in self-imposed suspension from Test cricket - and the small number of players inside the country.

The board, and Peter Chingoka, its chairman, countered the queries with bullish rhetoric about the state of school and club cricket and the investment being made in those areas. But for all the confident talk there remained rumours all was not well, and so I decided to find out for myself.

I started at the bottom, schools cricket. Historically, private schools have provided the core of Zimbabwe's provincial and national players - Chingoka himself was educated at the prestigious St George's College - and given the money they have been able to spend on basics such as grounds and equipment, that was not surprising.

The story in many of the schools was surprisingly good. "All the traditional junior and high schools are still playing cricket and the structures still seem to be there," one administrator told me. "All the age groups are still running." There was also good news among the government schools in high-density areas, where some were lucky enough to have ZC-funded coaches and many were still playing competitive cricket.

But there were claims that the distribution was not necessarily even. "Many school grounds are not being used due to the high cost of maintaining the facilities," one local player/coach admitted. "Only a few selected schools who are prepared to toe the line get funding from ZC for tractors and mowers to cut the outfields."

The increasing lack of good coaches is a growing problem, and one that is affecting even the private schools. "The current teachers require a second income to survive and can't afford the time to coach in the afternoons," said one former Test cricketer who helps out when he can. "It's been a pleasure coaching a young side that is so keen, but without an experienced coach who has played the game at some level, how is any sport going to grow in this country?"

The other big difference between government and private schools is equipment, which has always been scarce but now, as the economic crisis worsens, has become almost impossible to get hold of without foreign currency. Kit is shared between players - sides often have only one or two bats between them - and there are also growing issues with maintaining anything approaching reasonable surfaces for them to play on.

To its credit, ZC has a scholarship programme that enables talented players at junior schools to be sent to traditional cricket-playing private schools, such as Prince Edward School, Churchill Boys High School, and Milton High School. Exact numbers are hard to obtain but one master reckoned that at any one time there were around 25 boys on the scheme. Several of the current national side - for example, Tatenda Taibu, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura and Vusi Sibanda - have benefited from this programme.

The downside is that the Zimbabwe Academy, which Chingoka recently claimed was operational and which takes in "youngsters between the ages of 17 and 23", does not appear to have had an intake for at least two years. The buildings were burned down in late 2006, though the practice facilities remain.

Outside Harare the picture is gloomier, and the lack of players means that many schoolboys are fast-tracked into senior sides, purely to keep the clubs functioning. In Manicaland it is estimated that as many as three quarters of those playing for clubs are still at school.

"There's just a little bit going on as there are only two schools that had a cricket culture on the school curriculum," a local player said. Although he said there were attempts to spread the game, it was failing through a lack of investment. "Equipment for those taking up the game should be made available free, which isn't happening," he said. "The parents desire to have their children involved in the game, but then with the spiralling cost of basics such as food, transport, and school fees, cricket isn't one of the priorities."

In Matabeleland, the private schools, such as Falcon College outside Bulawayo, still function. "The standard of play at school level is good ... it's really competitive," one local said. "I know at High School they play two-day cricket, which is good in preparing the boys for the longer version of the game." But outside the elite institutions things are not as rosy, and the coaching is a problem. "The board has got coaches at some of the schools in Bulawayo ... but not all of them because many of them have left for South Africa. The private schools do have their own full-time coaches who are qualified enough."

What is of concern, and an observation that kept cropping up, is the perception that standards have fallen markedly in the last five years, a natural knock-on of deteriorating facilities, and as one headmaster told me, of the fact that for an increasing number of Zimbabweans survival is the priority and not sport. And only this week the United Nations reported that an increasing number of teachers are deserting their schools as they have not been paid.

"Once they leave school they are on their own to fend for themselves. After school one has to get a job immediately to cope with inflation," a coach said. "Half of them end up working and can't afford the time to play cricket."

The falling standards in the schools and the drop in the numbers of those who continue to play the game is having an impact. One source close to the Under-19 side stated that man for man, the current side is weaker than the one that did so well at the 2006 U-19 World Cup, and that is also reflected across the age groups. Given that many of the current full side have come from the U-19s in the last two or three years, that more than anything should concern the administrators.

Clearly, there is little ZC can do about the general malaise, but it does seem to be offering support where it can. There is a suspicion that Harare is much better catered for than some of the other centres; ZC would counter that the bulk of cricket is played there. It's a chicken-and-egg situation.

What is heartening is that despite all the hardships, cricket in schools is surviving, and that offers some hope for the future. The worry is that maintaining the structures gets harder with every passing day.