Life after the leviathan
Peter Whalley in The Zimbabwean looks at the effect that the recent one-day series win has had inside Zimbabwe and the cases for and against the country being kicked out of international cricket because of the deteriorating political situation.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Peter Whalley in The Zimbabwean looks at the effect that the recent one-day series win has had inside Zimbabwe and the cases for and against the country being kicked out of international cricket because of the deteriorating political situation.
Beating Bangladesh 3-2 was a much-needed fillip to morale inside the country.
“This feel good factor is likely to be swept away when the side faces stronger opposition, but a series win over an improving Bangladesh side cannot be ignored. It would suggest that the young team does have the potential to improve as long as it can continue to have international exposure even if the return to Test cricket is delayed.”
And Whalley makes a very valid point about the need to keep plugging away, regardless of the politics.
“It is important that the game continues and if that means working with the new dispensation, no matter how unpalatable to some, then so be it. There will come a time when the Zanu PF leviathan is no more and its fellow travellers on the cricket gravy train will disappear, so that genuine cricket-loving Zimbabweans can take the game to new heights from a position of growing strength. This is surely preferable to a situation of starting from scratch, which would be the case if those pressing for Zimbabwe's total isolation had their way.”
Martin Williamson is executive editor of ESPNcricinfo and managing editor of ESPN Digital Media in Europe, the Middle East and Africa