The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Minister of Sport and Recreation, Makhosini Hlongwane, has acknowledged the role of sport in mutual co-operation.
Speaking at the official welcome ceremony for the Sri Lanka and West Indies cricket teams at a Bulawayo hotel on Thursday night, Hlongwane said sport has the power to bring together countries, as shown by the “Ping Pong Diplomacy” between the Unites States of America and China in the 1970s.
“While nation to nation relationships have traditionally been developed through diplomacy, cultural exchanges and most outstandingly education it is slowly sinking in the diplomatic circles that sport is a vehicle to mutual co-operation. In 1971, United States of America and China were able to get together and start talking to one another in many decades, President Richard Nixon of the US and his counterpart in China on the back of a game of ping pong, therefore sport diplomacy is very important for people interactions, very important to building solid relations between people as well as nations.
“It is indeed humbling that the game of cricket has turned up to further our international relations, aspirations of a global village through sport, in my other conversations with Mukuhlani (Tavengwa) and his team I know there is a lot of work that is going on to try to break down walls, some of them that have existed for a number of years between ourselves and certain other colleagues countries through sport in particular through cricket,’’ said Hlongwane.
He assured the Heath Streak-coached Zimbabwean team that the whole country was behind them throughout the series and implored them to try their best to produce results even under the most adverse of conditions. Hlongwane singled out two cricket legends during the event, former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner who is the Calypso Kings team manager for the tour to Zimbabwe and ex-Indian seamer Javagal Srinath, in the country as the International Cricket Council appointed match referee for the series.
Speaking at the same occasion, Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said he has no doubt that the triangular series will be an unforgettable event. He said the pleas from Bulawayo residents for international cricket to be played in the city have not fallen on deaf ears as ZC have listened. Mukuhlani pointed out that the triangular series would have not gone ahead had it not been for the close relations ZC enjoys with the Sri Lankan and West Indian cricket boards.
“We would have not had this tour had it not been for the special ties we enjoy with Sri Lanka and West Indies cricket boards, these two have stood by us in good and bad times, West Indies are on their way from Dubai where they were having a tour with Pakistan and Sri Lanka are out of a difficult tour with Australia at home, from here they head back to Colombo then Johannesburg to play South Africa but within that hectic schedule they have given time to a special friend,’’ Mukuhlani said.
PPC Zimbabwe funded the welcome dinner for the Sri Lanka and West Indies cricket teams with their managing director Kelibone Masiyane also delivering a speech. The event was also attended by the Zimbabwean team, Bulawayo Metropolitan Cricket Association chairman Vumindaba Moyo and some members of his executive committee.
Queens Sports Club is the venue for five of the matches in the triangular series including the final to be played on 27 November. Zimbabwe played West Indies yesterday with the Graeme Cremer led side to face Sri Lanka tomorrow. Sri Lanka and West Indies meet on Friday with the top two teams at the conclusion of the preliminary round clashing in the final two days later.
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