Zimbabwe Cricket Online volume 4, issue 25, 7 March 2003

So, against all expectations and unfortunately not on merit, Zimbabwe go through to the Super Six stage of the World Cup. It was done without beating a Test-playing country on the field and thanks are due to four points donated by England and another two by the weather.

CONTENTS:

• Zimbabwe v Holland: scorecard and report
• Zimbabwe v Pakistan: scorecard and report
• Andy Blignaut: updated biography and first-class career record
• Letters

Quite a few people have commented that the World Cup has become a farce, with both Zimbabwe and Kenya reaching the Super Six stage. This is not far off the truth, but the culprits are England and New Zealand, whose refusal to play brought this situation to pass. It is difficult to see what else the ICC could have done once their honest assessments of the security of these countries had been rejected by two others; they could not have allowed themselves to be blackmailed into changing the venues.

The irony is obvious in Zimbabwe pushing out England for the final place in Pool A. New Zealand were a little more fortunate, but their walkover by Kenya has cost them four vital points in the Super Six stage.

The Zimbabwe team's celebrations after picking up their two points against Pakistan were muted, probably as muted as they were after they beat South Africa in England four years ago to reach the Super Six then. Where one would have expected celebrations then, instead the dressing room was incredibly quiet as the players were overwhelmed by disbelief at what they had done. And unfortunately they went on to play in the Super Sixes as if they didn't believe they deserved to be there.

They had much more right to be there in 1999, when they beat India and South Africa in the first round, than they have this year. So my worry is that they will fail to do themselves justice in their coming three matches and bow out of the tournament as ignominiously as they did in 1999. Even if the spirit is there, the resources are much weaker this time round, especially in bowling. We should beat Kenya, unless they handle their success far more efficiently than we do, but it will be a test to see if we can put up a worthwhile fight against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Most unsatisfactory, though, was the elimination of South Africa, yet again with much controversy, and West Indies. Both were frustrated by the weather, West Indies losing a probable victory over hapless Bangladesh and South Africa denied an exciting finish against Sri Lanka. However difficult it may be, the ICC must find a way to allocate reserve days so as to avoid farcical situations like this.

Had the tournament been played in a wet rainy season, like 2000 or 2001, there would have been many more draws and the tournament would have degenerated into a complete lottery. In fact, in those years the teams would hardly have got on to the field in Zimbabwe at all.

In the meantime we can reflect on a World Cup that was in many ways a disappointment to the cricket community of Zimbabwe. Overshadowing it all was the controversy surrounding the suitability of Zimbabwe as a venue. Those who felt that Zimbabwe was an unsuitable venue were entitled to their opinion, but their contribution was essentially negative. They wanted to pull out and leave us in the lurch, without any appreciation for all the tremendous work that had been put into this World Cup by the cricket community here. At times like this Zimbabwe cricket needs their support, but so many just wanted to turn their backs and walk away.

Administering the tournament was also not easy, and the Zimbabwe Cricket Union was no responsible for this. The security measures taken were grossly overdone and a nuisance and inconvenience to all. Those needing accreditation, the media and others, had to go through major inconveniences to get what they needed from the company responsible, who did not even allocate press seating until the morning of the match, requiring long delays. At the first Bulawayo match those who needed telephones had to wait almost two hours after the match started before getting them.

Another complaint was that the grounds were half-empty. At the matches against other Test-playing countries every seat had been allocated, but thousands were not taken up. Many had been allocated to sponsors and others and sent to South Africa, but when they were not taken up they were not returned in time for them to be sold locally.

So these arrangements too were somewhat farcical. It will be many years before Zimbabwe is able to host any World Cup matches again. At least the ICC itself supported us from beginning to end, for which we are grateful, but many others combined to make this first time rather a disappointment for the struggling cricket community in Zimbabwe.