Nothing on the box

Steven Price reports on the problems facing the average Zimbabwean wanting to watch his team play in the World Cup

In the midst of growing civil unrest, now even watching our team in the World Cup is now considered luxurious for hard-pressed Zimbabweans who are suffering under an appalling economic environment and rigorous government oppression.

On Thursday, as Zimbabwe fought out an enthralling tie with Ireland, thousands of Zimbabwean cricket fans and players here had to come to terms with the dismal reality of a World Cup blackout on the sole, state-run television channel operating in the country.

You don't have to go further than this to search how Zimbabwe cricket has tumbled since the late 1990s when the committed and energetic administrators at the time took a once "minority" sport to a higher level and a wave of broader participation and public interest. The only way to see the cricket was by subscription to the South African Supersports channel, something affordable to precious few, and even then the almost non-stop powercuts meant that only the handful of sports bars with their own generators - and who had enough cash for the fuel to run them - offered ball-by-ball coverage.

Some of the main clubs - Harare Sports Club and Old Hararians are two - did show the games but one member reported that most people stayed away as they expected ZBC to show the matches. Anyway, given the times the matches are being played, only those with cars and a bit of cash to spare can afford to go to these bars. But even for most of them, its getting more difficult. Fuel prices are rising by the day.

It is such a contrast with what has happened in the past. Zimbabweans were able to watch the World Cup in England in 1999 on the local channel, chiefly thanks to the efforts of the then capable and international-respected ZCU board and management. Boosted by their team's laudable performances in the tournament, cricket recorded unprecedented growth in Zimbabwe. In a country where signs of cracks were already appearing on the surface, it seemed then that everyone wanted to be associated with cricket as the only positive facet of Zimbabwean life that was left.

Then in 2003, Zimbabwe got five home games when South Africa hosted the World Cup. Those who were not privileged to watch the matches at the grounds in Harare and Bulawayo followed the action on local television. Again thanks to the old administrators, cricket has amassed a considerable following, many of them ordinary citizens struggling to afford a decent single meal a day, and living in fear of arbitrary arrest and torture by an insecure regime. Now there is barely anything worth watching on the propaganda-filled state channel.

This leaves Zimbabweans depending on reports filed by two editors from the government-controlled Herald newspaper, who are on a ZC-sponsored voyage in the Caribbean. The board has gone down this route before, and by paying for them to travel, criticism of the team can be minimised.

As our team stuttered thousands of kilometers away at Sabina Park in Kingston, diehard Zimbabwean cricket fans slept the night pondering the future. They woke up Friday morning thinking how the match would have gone their way if they were afforded the privilege of watching their team's opening World Cup match. They can be forgiven.

One last thought. The two men running the game in Zimbabwe will have had no such problems. Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute reportedly flew to the Caribbean last weekend where they can relax in comfort with those within the ICC hierarchy who support them through thin and even thinner. It's tough at the top.