New Zimbabwe board has 'dearth of cricket experience'
Cricinfo speaks to Clive Field, who last month quit as the head of the Zimbabwe Professional Cricketers's Association, about the conduct of the board in the recent dispute
In the second part of his exclusive interview with Cricinfo, Clive Field, who stepped down as chief executive of the Zimbabwe Professional Cricketers Association last month, talks about the state of play inside the country and gives his candid views on the conduct of the board during the recent dispute
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When the players asked for Peter and Ozias to step down, the dispute was personalised, and the minute that happened, it went pear-shaped. It was shown to be a mistake because it deflected attention from cricket issues and the immediate casualty was Tatenda Taibu. Also, because the ZPCA did not win outside support at the ICC, the climate was then even more damaged for the players.
In many ways the calls for Peter and Ozias to go were the catalyst that saw the board split apart and the Sports & Recreation Committee (SRC) was then ushered in, it set up the Interim Committee, and this gave an ideal pretext for them to eliminate respected administrators and board members such as Justice Ebrahim. The rest is history: Peter and Ozias were immediately re-appointed and the players were told they had no business dabbling in the board's composition. If the world didn't like it, well Zimbabwe didn't need Test cricket anyway. How can ZC get away with thumbing its nose at the ICC? It amazes me ZC would even dare to try, but I don't understand the politics of world cricket. And it is much too soon to write Peter's ZC obituary.
When the Taibu issue first blew up [the threats] what did ZC to investigate the incident and protect the player?
I am sure ZC will say they acted quickly to move Taibu and his family to a safe house. On the face of it, they did take action to protect him. Whether that was adequate, or even necessary in the first place, is perhaps more to the point. One has to look at the circumstances which gave rise to that incident [Taibu speaking out against the board]. The way he was threatened was totally unacceptable, where else in the world does a national captain get treated in this way while his employer stands by and does little or nothing? The end result was, for me, the darkest day in Zimbabwe's cricket history; a role model and charismatic leader, one of very few true Test-quality players we still have, drummed out of the game. ZPCA took up the matter of Themba Mliswa [the person Taibu identified as being responsible for the threats] at the highest level -with Chingoka - but we were simply told ZC could not do anything as Mliswa was not representing a ZC-affiliated province. Clearly for Taibu not enough was done. He deserved much better than this.
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The Interim Committee cited his form. However, many believe Digger was jettisoned because he was vocal when he took over as leader of the ZPCA. So ZC chose to shoot the messenger. I have to say that in all my dealings with Digger he was always concerned for the welfare of all players, especially the younger ones, and was an unselfish advocate for them. I think he, like Taibu, has become just another victim of this nasty dispute.
In the darkest days during December and January how close were the board to folding?
Clearly there was pressure from every side internally. The players' decision to go back saved the board, but two things probably saved it even before that. Firstly, the ICC basically chose to walk by on the other side, and said it was an internal issue. This in turn allowed an opportunity for the SRC to become involved in resolving it locally. The SRC's work effectively marginalised large interest groups, replaced the board with a committee which was racially constituted, and affirmed the existing tenure in leadership of Chingoka and Bvute. The committee cleverly took the board out of the equation for the next six months.
What is your view on the racial/political cleansing of the board? Is this something that the international community should be concerned about?
What is concerning is that the Interim Committee which has replaced the board has a dearth of cricket experience and is racially narrow. I cannot speak for its political persuasion, or if it has one, but I can say clearly it is not racially representative of the playing base.
And this should concern the international community because the Interim Committee are acting in a custodial capacity. Cricket is not theirs, it belongs to the people. Being a custodian demands knowledge of the game, and its heritage. It is an exacting role. Apart from international concern however are concerns of ICC and FICA [the international players' association], both of whom have expressed misgivings, based on the fact the current committee's racial composition is exclusive. This flies in the face of the ICC Charter.
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Look, I am well aware of this rumour ... we can only wait and see if it has substance. There have been continuous allegations of financial wrong-doing levelled against the board and management of ZC by the provinces, and these reached such a pitch in late 2005 that the players could no longer ignore it ... that was what got them involved in these so-called governance issues.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has looked at some of the allegations but has not, thus far, seen fit to act. That in itself has not helped to clear the air. However, other governance and accountability aspects remain unanswered, despite efforts from the provinces.
Possibly the independent audit of ZC finances called for by the Interim Committee may shed some light, but I only say possibly because such audit still has to be done, and will take place under the auspices of the Interim Committee chaired by the same person [Peter Chingoka] who was chairman before.
I am not questioning the credentials of the firm of auditors assigned to this task, but in the time which has passed since these issues were highlighted last year, it seems to me there would have been ample opportunity to sanitize the books. All we could originally all hope for was that the audit was done quickly. The ICC sought to ensure that too. The fact is, it has not happened.
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