The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda in Harare
ZIMBABWE Cricket chairman, Tavengwa Mukuhlani has extended an apology to the nation for the national team’s failure to qualify for the 2019 Cricket World Cup while at the same time promising to hold to account those responsible for the debacle.
Indications are that coach Heath Streak, skipper Graeme Cremer and convener of selectors Tatenda Taibu will be asked to step aside for their part in the catastrophe.
Last Thursday, Zimbabwe’s dream of making it to England and Wales was shuttered when the Chevrons shamefully lost to part timers of the United Arab Emirates in their last Super Six match of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier at Harare Sports Club. Zimbabwe lost by three runs to UAE on the Duckworth/Lewis method, a result which allowed Afghanistan to join West Indies in taking the two slots available for next year’s tournament.
Afghanistan and West Indies meet in the final today in what is a match to decide who gets to lift the trophy at Harare Sports Club with both teams having already secured their spots at the World Cup.
“This is not what we expected, it’s disappointing and of course as the chairman of the board, on behalf of the board, we want to express our apologies to the nation, we are extremely sorry for the outcome, that’s not what the nation expected, the nation expected better results from the team as they always do and we are extremely sorry for the result that came out on Thursday at Harare Sports Club,’’ Mukuhlani said.
Just like all Zimbabweans, Mukuhlani thought the fixture against UAE was a predetermined result with the Chevrons expected to steam-roll past the amateurs to seal their spot at the World Cup. It was however, not to be as the Cremer-led Chevrons decided to break the hearts of 15 000 fans who packed Harare Sports Club on that fateful day.
“I believe that I speak on behalf of Zimbabweans that the UAE match was literally a foregone conclusion and that was the only match we needed to be in England in 2019. We have done everything possible, we gave them two full tours ahead of the qualifiers and the Government has given all the support possible to have this event held in Zimbabwe. The fans were amazing in Bulawayo, on Thursday the ground had close if not more than 15 000 people, I am not too sure what else we could have done better to help our team qualify,’’ he said.
ZC were meant to get $1 million had the Chevrons qualified for the World Cup with Mukuhlani indicating that they had agreed to put aside part of the funds to reward the players. Not only will Streak’s lads miss out on the attractive incentives but they have also fluffed an opportunity to showcase their talent on a global stage.
“For qualification, we were going to get $1 million and part of that money we had made a decision that it would towards bonuses for the players. In terms of our future distributions, our income doesn’t really change because of the new funding model at ICC which is on the basis of an eight-year cycle.
ICC has moved from the four-year cycle which was from World Cup to World Cup, now it’s an eight-year cycle where all the earnings are distributed across eight years so it doesn’t impact on our income. What it does is that we are missing to be on the global stage with other nations at the World Cup, it’s the pinnacle of the game for any player to be at the World Cup, it’s the right stage for our players, it gives them an opportunity to be in lucrative leagues like the IPL,’’ Mukuhlani said.
According to the ZC boss, those responsible for the disaster will soon be called in to account so as to give the board an understanding as to what exactly transpired.
“There will be definitely a post mortem, and it will be sooner than later, like many Zimbabweans the board will need to get answers from the technical staff, from the captain, from the convener as to what could we have done better, what is it that the board didn’t do enough and what is it that the board could have done better to help them qualify,’’ he said.
He is still perplexed by the decision to drop explosive opener Cephas Zhuwao and left arm spinner Tendai Chisoro.
“We need to obviously understand the thinking behind the changes that were made to the team against the UAE, the board, like any other Zimbabwean need to understand why you make fundamental changes to the team when you are playing the weakest team in the tournament and the final stage, the crucial game, the game that holds the key to the World Cup. Some strange changes to the team, no injuries were reported,’’ Mukuhlani said.
He slammed the Tatenda Taibu -led selection panel for not picking a winning team stating the fans who pitched up came to watch their national team in action and many are convinced that the wrong team was selected.
“People don’t come to the stadium to see the team that Mukuhlani wants to play, it’s not about me, they came to see their national team and I believe most of them are saying that’s not what was presented to them and we need answers to all that and people in positions must give answers,’’ he said.
Mukuhlani said he felt the pain of the fans when they left Harare Sports Club disappointed by what they had witnessed.
“I watched the thousands of people walking from Harare Sports Club and I could only feel for them and I don’t think it’s going to be easy to try and get the people back to the stadium without the team having to up their game. The fans came to the stadium, the team did not turn up to the stadium, I don’t believe that you can blame them for staying away. When 15 000 people turn up for a match and 11 guys don’t turn up, you can’t blame them.”
He directed his anger at team selection again as he struggles to comprehend how they those tasked with the job chose the wrong moment to tinker with a team that had delivered in most of the matches in the Qualifier.
“If you have 15 000 fans and you are not afraid that the changes I am making to this team may have a long lasting impact and people casually do it. I worry about that, I worry about the fact that what is it that the fans have done wrong to be put through this agonising experience of losing to UAE, no disrespect to UAE or any other team but I think losing to UAE at Harare Sports Club is unacceptable.
Yes it’s a game of cricket, there will be a winner and a loser but surely at Harare Sports Club, in Zimbabwe on home soil, the loser must have been the UAE, there is no reason why we should have lost to UAE, not only losing to UAE but fail to qualify for the World Cup,’’ he said.
What pains him is that the team’s fine run in the Qualifier had attracted a lot of interest with the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Recreation having announced a grant for the national, with all that in jeopardy following Thursday’s failure.
“Zimbabwe Cricket’s financial problems are well chronicled, everyone understands that but when these guys were losing to UAE at Harare Sports Club on Thursday, the Government was busy working out how they can chip in to help in terms of finances to help the team by way of a grant. The Ministry has announced that we have got a grant to give to national teams and I can confirm that I was with the Ministry of Sports officials, they were working on this and the guys were busy losing at Harare Sports Club,’’ Mukuhlani said.
What transpired on Thursday was painful for everyone involved in the game with the future gloomy for cricket in the country. Decisions to be made by Mukuhlani and his board in the coming weeks will have a huge bearing on the sport going forward.
