Dave Ellman-Brown on Zimbabwe's season

John Ward speaks to Zimbabwe Cricket Union chief executive Dave Ellman-Brown about the triumphs (?) and disasters of Zimbabwe's busiest season.

JW: My assessment of the recent season is that it has been a season of unprecedented disappointment on the international field of play and unprecedented progress away from it. What is your feeling?

DE-B: Yes, John, I feel you're probably right. I've been very disappointed with some of our results. We started off the season very badly, after the hype of World Cup, where we did win some nice games. We played very well against South Africa - we played well against Australia, although we lost. We were very lucky the game against India went our way and I think we were fortunate to get into the Super Six. Having said that, and there were some good performances in the World Cup, I thought, since then we haven't played very well. We performed very poorly I think in Singapore, not much better in Kenya. We have had some very good opposition this year. We've played the Australians, South Africa, and Sri Lanka are a good side - they've beaten many people.

So it was a disappointment. I think we might have done better against Sri Lanka, but we didn't. And then England came here. I think we were very unlucky not to win that one game in Bulawayo - we should have won that - but I think we should have played better. England played better than we. A big disappointment to me was the West Indies - I think we have not played well. We've played well below ourselves. I've said this already and I say it again: I don't think it's a case of lack of talent. I think we have got talent, but I don't think we applied ourselves. I just hope they sort things out in our tour to England. We have picked our squad of what we think is our best side for the two Tests in England, but undoubtedly we will be looking for a different side for the one-dayers, which is later on this year, in July.

So yes, I am a bit disappointed. We've had a change in captaincy, and it always takes a bit of time to settle down. But I think there are some people in that team who are not performing, and I think it's time that we looked at this in a very positive manner and blood some of our youngsters. I've already been on record as saying what I think of the importance of having a B side and the amount of cricket the B side has played, and it's very gratifying to see that they're in Sri Lanka at the moment. But we have to show recognition of these youngsters coming through, and perhaps try some of them in our Test team. People who are established in the side, if they are not performing, I don't believe they have a right to stay there. If they are not performing they must go, and let's look to some youth. Other countries are doing that, and we shouldn't be scared to do it.

I'm looking for a much better performance in England. We've had a lot of cricket, and I feel that's a plus point. People have said it might be too much, but I don't think it's too much. We've have an increase of contracted players, all professional, and they must get on. They have a job of work to do, in this very modern day and age; that's their full-time job and they must play.

JW: With cricket being very much a game that's played mainly in the head, it seems to me that the main problem with our team is just that they haven't got their heads right, they haven't the confidence they should have.

DE-B: Yes. It's just amazing - I can remember back in the days when Duncan Fletcher was captain, and we had an unprecedented 15 or so one-day victories in a row. I don't care who we were playing - mainly one-day sides - but we won every one and we didn't know what losing was all about. That's the important thing; I don't think we're mentally attuned to saying, "We're going to go out there and we're going to win." We don't look as if we are geared to win. We seem to lack a bit of something in our body language and it's got to be rectified.

In the recent tour of the West Indies, the other teams looked as if they had the edge on us all the time. We were lucky in the Tests; we should have won that First Test, but we fell apart on that fifth day, which was a pity. Maybe that would have made all the difference. All we need is a good win and the morale changes and the head changes and the confidence level changes. That's all we need, and unfortunately we seemed to play, I thought, just worse and worse in the West Indies. But we must look at it, we must not be negative about it, we must play in a positive manner and see if we can't get a combination together that's going to win.

JW: Away from the international arena, what do you feel are the main areas of progress?

DE-B: I think this year that our domestic competition was probably the best it's ever been. The introduction of our former Academy players to play for Manicaland, Midlands and Matabeleland has been a great success. They are not only playing but also coaching in those areas. We've had a few teething problems with that, but it's a start. I think we'll see it follow through next year to better advantage. But the mere introduction of the new teams - the Academy side, Manicaland and Midlands - has made it I think into a very good competition. I think it was worthwhile, the players seemed to enjoy it, and maybe having the national team away is not a bad idea, because it's spread the talent. The level of expertise maybe is not as high as it should be, but it gave everybody an opportunity to play.

I think that's been very good; I'm pleased with that, and I'm pleased with the development we continue to have here at Harare Sports Club and at Queens Sports Club. It's very gratifying and exciting. It's a very costly exercise, but there's a lot of development going on. I think the fact that we had so much cricket here is very good, and also holding the ICC Emerging Nations here. I think it's good that we were asked to do it, and by and large, with the exception of one ground [Old Georgians Sports Club] that was not fit to play, the competition went off very well. The teams seemed very happy, and I understand they want to repeat it next year. So that's good news, and I think it's a move in the right direction. So from that point of view I don't think it's been a bad season at all. Obviously we've had a bit of rain interruption, but that's inevitable, just one of those things.

I think the development of the Academy is starting to bear fruit; some of the youngsters who have been there have found their way into the main side and into the B side. I think the fact that we had an Under-19 side go to the World Cup was very gratifying; the fact that we are going to the Under-15 World Cup in August this year is also going to be on benefit to our cricket.

Coaching generally: there are a lot of good and bad points to that, areas that can be improved on, but hopefully we can get that right. We've got a team of coaches who are designed to find our youth in their formative years. Our scholarship programme in the schools continues to be successful. It's a very expensive operation and we're spending something like a million dollars on it, with support from Tobacco Industries and Seedco. But that doesn't cover the whole cost, not by a long way, so the Union has to fund that to a great extent. But we will continue with it because it's very important; it's the only way we can make sure that we can retain some of the talent we find. It's very gratifying to see that the programme is working, because we have young Taibu now who came through that very route. He went to Chipembere School and he's still at Churchill at this very moment. But he has made it into the main side, coming through from the Under-19 side. David Mutendera is another one who is coming through, and it's very exciting to see our development youngsters coming through to international cricket. That pleases me enormously.

And we have a lot more depth than we've ever had before. At one stage we actually fielded a Test side, a B side, a development side and an Under-19 side, all at the same time. That kind of depth we haven't had for a long time.

The next area I want to get cricket sorted out in is Masvingo province. We're having some very useful talks with them, and hopefully that will come right. To bring in Midlands frankly from nothing is I think the biggest achievement we have made. Ken Connelly quite correctly got the Administrator of the Year award this year because his men have done a wonderful job in the Kwekwe area.

JW: And in Manicaland as well; I managed to get down to a match in Mutare and was very impressed with the enthusiasm and support for the game down there.

DE-B: Yes, they're very good too. They're enthusiastic, and hopefully with Bill Flower now down there, he's going to make a big difference to the coaching. So it's all good news; Matabeleland too. There's a different attitude down there, we're putting a lot of money into the Queens ground, and I think you'll agree the facilities there are vastly superior to what they have been in the past. So it's all looking good. We have plenty to tours ahead of us next season, so we must just make sure we play properly so that those invitations for tours continue to come in.

We do have a tour roster now which I am quite sure we will approve in principle, and put it into place later on this year at the ICC. It's not a case of looking for invitations now, they are enshrined, and it's on a five-year rotation basis. We will know exactly when we are playing each country years ahead.

JW: Does it stipulate a minimum number of Test matches to be played?

DE-B: Not really. Each country will make its own decisions. We know that we can't sustain more than three Test matches in a series in this country. Obviously there are traditional rivals, England and Australia especially, where they want a five-match series. A lot of the cricket being played now consists of series of three Tests and a series of one-dayers. A lot of triangulars are being played, which is very good.

We ourselves are trying to put together, and we have it agreed in principle, that in June and July 2001 we will have the West Indies and India here, where we will play Test matches and a triangular - Test matches against the West Indies, a series with West Indies, India and ourselves, and then Test matches against India. And of course we'll be trying out for the first time our grounds during the winter. So it will be very interesting to see how that goes.

I'm hopeful it will be the start of things to come, because the southern hemisphere at that time of year doesn't play cricket. The only country that's playing international cricket is England, with whatever two countries they choose to invite. So if there are to be ten Test-playing countries, there will be seven others doing nothing. It's a window of opportunity that we must pursue to our best advantage.

JW: I hope we won't get fobbed off by other countries with a whole lot of one-off Tests instead of a proper series.

DE-B: No, I don't think we will. I think in the main it will be two Test matches, possibly three sometimes. It will happen sometimes; for example, we are going to New Zealand and playing one Test and three one-dayers over Christmas. We don't want to play any more because we have such a long tour, and it just fits in very nicely. We've had an invitation to go to Sharjah, for a tournament involving Sri Lanka, India and ourselves, in October. From there we go to India for a series, and then to New Zealand, who wanted to fill their Boxing Day Test with us. We're very happy to do that as part of our move to Australia to play in the Carlton and United Series with Australia in January and February next year. So that's the plan we have - a very long tour but a lot more good cricket, so I just hope that we've got a bunch of guys at that stage who are hungry to win matches.

JW: Just one thing I thought may have been rather a handicap this last season: we went into the Tests against Australia and South Africa without our players having had the chance to play any first-class cricket before and get out of the one-day mode and prepare for the longer game.

DE-B: Yes, it's difficult, really. When tours are arranged and countries have slots, whilst we did play one-day cricket before that, I'm not sure who we're going to practise against. Are we just going to have longer internal games? It's very difficult sometimes to fit it in. And of course people criticise, because they were very strong sides; they're all strong sides. But we can't just pick and choose when people come, when they say they're available. We would be very foolish if we said, "Ah, no, come a bit later," and they said, "We can't fit it in." It's a busy international calendar and we've got to fit into that; other countries have to fit into it and so must we. International cricket has blossomed during the past three years; it's not the same game any more, and we do have a very very busy schedule just as every other country does. We're part of the system.

JW: The Logan Cup next season: what are your thoughts about that?

DE-B: Obviously we're looking at recommendations; there is the domestic cricket committee and we had a board meeting last Saturday where we advised them that they should be looking at a format for next year, and they will obviously take in recommendations from the various provincial boards as to how it should be structured. We're not too sure whether there should be a final when it's a round-robin; that they must sort out. There was a feeling that when there is a league system, the winner of that should win the Logan Cup. This season we had a combination of a league and a final, and the winner of the Logan Cup was the winner of the final. This was obviously slightly different from just having a league basis. They will look at suggestions and hurdles and come up with a formula that's as ideal as you could possibly make it.

JW: Any idea yet of the timing of the competition?

DE-B: No, not at all. Obviously it will have to fit in but I think you will find it will be in the latter stages of the season because we will have a situation where our main team will be touring. Whether they decide to have it throughout the season or not, without them, or whether they will wait until the latter part and have it in February or March, I'm not too sure. That is something that we will be looking at, and the recommendations made by that committee will go through to the new board, and that's among the things the new board will be discussing when it's elected in July after the annual general meeting.

JW: Are there any other future plans or developments that can be mentioned?

DE-B: We're continuing the development of the two Test-playing arenas, Harare Sports Club and Queens Sports Club. Those plans are in place. Queens' plans have been approved for development, and attached to the media centre will be a new area for the players, including changing rooms, together with the president's box. That has been approved by the board and will go ahead with the minimum of delay.

Harare Sports Club is slightly different; we have a few problems there. We haven't been able to finalise our programme, which is a very fancy programme, but the costs are prohibitive. So we're going to have to look at it as a phased operation, and we are in the process of looking at it at the moment.

JW: Any other points you would like to make?

DE-B: From our point of view, I think it's been a busy season with a lot of cricket. We could have played better.

I think the biggest sadness of my life is this situation that world cricket finds itself in at the moment with match-fixing and receiving money for information. That's been a big shaker, and the latest findings haven't helped to endear the game internationally. I think it's very sad; we shouldn't have this situation hanging around us, and this situation is so large. If we're not careful it could very easily sour some of the supporters we have. We've got to get rid of this cancer. ICC are taking it very seriously, with a special meeting on 2 and 3 May being called to discuss this matter, and I think the ICC will show it is very serious in what it contemplates doing. Anybody who is involved in that kind of activity must go.