PETERHOUSE NOSTALGIA

STUART CARLISLE

Evening Standard

15 April 2004

Streak hits out at 'racists'
By Wayne Veysey

Zimbabwe's selectors were due to meet today to choose what is set to be a novice squad following the dispute with 13 top players that threatens the future of international cricket in the country. In a six-page statement issued yesterday, the rebels accused the Zimbabwe Cricket Union of "racial and ethnic discrimination" in their selection of the national team. The group, headed by former captain Heath Streak, say they will not play international cricket again unless their concerns are addressed. They claim "deserving players of all races" have been excluded from the team and criticise the " unprofessional manner of selection" that allows "interference of a non-sporting agenda". The 13 players are all white and include only one who has not represented Zimbabwe at international level. The ZCU refused to comment on the document and chief executive Vince Hogg was locked in talks last night with Streak to work out a compromise. The players, who are refusing to train, say they will only play in the one-day series against Sri Lanka, starting on Tuesday, if the ZCU overhauls its selection process. If talks break down, it raises the prospect of new captain Tatenda Taibu leading out a second- or even third-string side in the forthcoming series against Sri Lanka and Australia, and against England in the autumn.

Reuters

Zimbabwe squad hit by players' boycott

Thu April 15, 2004 11:47 PM
By Telford Vice DURBAN (Reuters) -

Zimbabwe cricket was thrown into disarray on Thursday when it was forced to select a second-string squad to take on Sri Lanka next week after a players' rebellion. The Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) announced a 14-man squad after 13 leading players, all of them white and including former captain Heath Streak, refused to play in the one-day and test series after a row over selection policy. Only four of the selected squad, captained by 20-year-old wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, played in Zimbabwe's last test and one-day side against Bangladesh in February and March.

The boycott was sparked earlier this month by a ZCU announcement that Streak, a world-class bowler and the mainstay of the side, had quit all cricket. The board said he resigned because he was unhappy with the composition of the selectors' panel although Streak's father denied his son had resigned. The 'rebel' players announced their boycott earlier on Thursday while demanding that Streak be reinstated, one selector be sacked and that the board apologise for a series of "transgressions".

In a letter, they claimed there had been "threats of boycott, pitch invasions and digging up of the pitch" by at least one board official if more black players were not selected. They argued earlier in the week that there had been "racial and ethnic discrimination" in team selection. The board attempted to defuse the affair by slimming down the selection panel from five to four but they retained Max Ebrahim, who the players oppose because he has not coached or played at first-class level.

Zimbabwe, with few players to choose from and already struggling to compete at the top level, are scheduled to play five one-dayers, the first next Tuesday in Bulawayo, and two tests against Sri Lanka.

The ZCU has championed a policy of trying to select up to five black or coloured players in its side whenever possible to help promote the game in the country. Its critics, however, argue the policy has been politicised and gone too far. Earlier this week the International Cricket Council, the sport's governing body, called for both sides to "act in the best interests of the game" but said it would not intervene since it was a "domestic issue".

This is not the first rebellion to rock Zimbabwe cricket. The team lost world-class wicketkeeper-batsman Andy Flower -- who averaged 51.54 in 63 tests and played more than 200 one-dayers -- and seamer Henry Olonga after last year's World Cup after the pair protested against the "death of democracy" under President Robert Mugabe's government. Alistair Campbell and Guy Whittall, two more Zimbabwe regulars, retired soon after to weaken the squad further.

The 13 rebel players are Streak, Stuart Carlisle, Grant Flower -- Andy's brother -- Craig Wishart, Andy Blignaut, Raymond Price, Gary Brent, Sean Ervine, Travis Friend, Barney Rogers, Trevor Gripper, Richard Sims and Neil Ferreria.

They face further confrontations with their board, which has threatened to punish them if they fail to turn up to training on Friday.

Taibu, who has played 14 tests and who Streak has praised as a fine player, will become the youngest captain in test history when he leads Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka in the first test next month.

Zimbabwe squad to play Sri Lanka:

Tatenda Taibu (captain), Dion Ebrahim, Vusi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Alester Maregwede, Mluleki Nkala, Waddington Mwayenga, Brendon Taylor, Douglas Hondo, Prosper Utseya, Tawanda Mpariwa, Edward Rainsford, Tinashe Panyangara.

From The Times (UK), 16 April

Zimbabwe descend into state of anarchy over sacking of 13

By Geoffrey Dean

Zimbabwean cricket slipped closer to the abyss yesterday after it emerged that the 13 white players who aired their grievances in a statement on Wednesday are to have their contracts terminated by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. The ZCU, which is expected to release the news today, is ready to sue the players for breach of contract. As a result, a 14-man squad of largely untried, woefully inexperienced youngsters has been picked for the first two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo next week. The group of 13, led by Heath Streak, the former captain, heard of their fate "on the grapevine" yesterday, as one of them put it. "The lawyers are dealing with it now," the player, who wishes to remain anonymous, said. "I've been told the ZCU are taking legal action and we'll have to decide if we counter-claim." Unable to tolerate any further what they described as "racial and ethnic discrimination in the selection of the national team", the group, among other things, called in their statement for the replacement of selectors who are without the requisite cricketing experience. Without any question, they were referring to Max Ebrahim and Stephen Mangongo, two politically motivated individuals with minimal cricketing backgrounds. Mangongo was instrumental in getting Henry Olonga thrown out of his club side, Takashinga, after the joint statement with Andy Flower 14 months ago deploring the "death of democracy" in Zimbabwe.

Not altogether unsurprisingly, the ZCU yesterday replaced not Ebrahim and Mangongo but the three selectors who are properly qualified - the convener, Ali Shah, a former national player, John Brent, once a provincial player, and Geoff Marsh, the coach and former Australia opening batsman. In their place, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, the former Test bowler, and Richie Kaschula, who played for Rhodesia in the 1970s, were named, although Mbangwa was unaware of his new post until he read about it on the internet. He declined it, citing "conflicts". The new "appointments" were welcomed by the 13 rebels, who reiterated their opposition to the two "politicos". They also issued a new statement with several demands, notably that the ZCU acknowledges, in a public statement, certain "transgressions", including the financial carrot offered to Mark Vermeulen to give his place in the team for a recent one-day international to a non-white player. Streak's reinstatement as captain was also called for. "Heath was representing our collective grievances," the statement read, "and we feel he was unlawfully dismissed from his playing duties in retaliation to our stance, and that the board has been vindictive."

Peter Chingoka, the ZCU chairman, dismissed any possibility of Streak being reappointed, saying that he had stepped down voluntarily and that his "resignation" had been accepted. "There is no business in the world that can possibly operate under threats from employees - and that is what they are," he said. "We simply cannot be dictated to." One of the rebels said yesterday that some of the black players picked against Sri Lanka "do not want to play and are supporting our cause". He added: "We're not having any more meetings. We have been in meetings for two weeks. We are sick of meetings. It's getting dirty. Everything's coming out. I have no idea what the consequences are going to be but we are not budging until they meet these fair demands of ours. It's been very tough for everyone. It goes deeper, your families, wives, girlfriends - they are all affected and the last week has been very tough for them. We're willing to be unemployed from next week onwards and we're willing to risk legal action . . . to save Zimbabwe cricket. We also know that some of the provinces are very upset with the ZCU."

There was no statement from the International Cricket Council (ICC) last night, despite the prospect of a farce next week when Zimbabwe put out what one rebel's father predicted would be "a bunch of schoolboys". Tatenda Taibu, 20, will become the youngest captain in Test-match history against Sri Lanka, starting on May 6. "The ICC will do absolutely nothing," the rebel's father said. "The ZCU have got what they wanted - to get rid of the whites in the side - but a bit earlier than they expected. They thought a few hollow concessions would persuade the rebels to play in the series against Sri Lanka and Australia (in May)." The player sent a text message to his father last night, urging him not to worry and saying that he would come out of the experience stronger. Zimbabwean cricket cannot possibly do.

TIMETABLE OF TURMOIL

Apr 2: Heath Streak says that he would "consider his position" as captain if his demands are not met. The ZCU claims Streak had given them ultimatum to cut the number of selectors from five to four and demands that selectors all had to have first-class experience. It treats his position as a resignation and announces the appointment of Tatenda Taibu as captain.

Apr 5: Streak denies resigning and is seeking legal advice, his father, Dennis, says.

Apr 8: Senior cricketers consider striking after union refuses to back down.

Apr 11: Reports that four members of the Test squad - Sean Ervine, Travis Friend, Ray Price and Craig Wishart - have been dismissed.

Apr 13: Open statement is released by Streak and 12 other named white Zimbabwe cricketers, criticising the "cancer" of politics that is "eroding the game in Zimbabwe".

Apr 14: Union proposes a compromise. A team of selectors will include two men favoured by Streak, but two that he has opposed.

Apr 15: Thirteen players refuse to play in the home series against Sri Lanka, due to begin next week.

Reuters

15 April 2004

Players, Zimbabwe union sue each other

Fri April 16, 2004 9:23 PM By Telford Vice DURBAN (Reuters) - The Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) and a group of 13 rebel players have issued writs against each other for alleged breach of contract.

The ZCU said the group, which includes former captain Heath Streak, had breached their contracts after they failed to turn up, as ordered by the union, at a practice session in Harare on Friday.

"They didn't arrive," ZCU managing director Vince Hogg told Reuters from Harare. "There is a process we need to follow on breach of contract and the next stage is letters to the individuals asking them to remedy their breach."

The players, in turn, have accused the ZCU of being in breach of contract.

"I feel we have enough to allege a fundamental breach of their contract," Chris Venturas, the players' lawyer, told Reuters from Harare.

"It's an implicit term of a contract that you have a reasonable board of selectors and that they have a requisite proficiency. I believe there is consensus that that hasn't happened."

Both parties have 21 days to remedy the alleged breaches, failing which, matters will go to court.

Venturas said: "We want to settle this, we believe we can find a solution. It can still be fixed, they can still apply their minds to fixing the breaches."

Hogg said: "The door is always open from us. It always has been, but there are no meetings scheduled at this stage."

SELECTION PANEL

Earlier this week, the players threatened to quit over what they described as an "unprofessional manner of selection" that allows "interference of a non-sporting agenda." They have also alleged "racial and ethnic discrimination in the selection of the national team."

On Thursday, the board attempted to defuse the affair by slimming down the selection panel from five to four but they retained Max Ebrahim, who the players oppose because he has not coached or played at first-class level.

After their refusal to play in the series against Sri Lanka, which starts in Bulawayo on Tuesday, the ZCU was forced on Thursday to select a second-string squad. Only four of the squad, captained by 20-year-old wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, played in Zimbabwe's last test and one-day side against Bangladesh in February and March.

The crisis was sparked earlier this month by a ZCU announcement that Streak, a world-class bowler and the mainstay of the side, had quit all cricket. The board said he had resigned because he was unhappy with the composition of the selectors' panel, although Streak's father denied his son had quit.

The 13 rebel players, who are all white, are Streak, Stuart Carlisle, Grant Flower, Craig Wishart, Andy Blignaut, Raymond Price, Gary Brent, Sean Ervine, Travis Friend, Barney Rogers, Trevor Gripper, Richard Sims and Neil Ferreria.

Rebel cricketers face sanctions

AFP SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2004 12:12:54 AM

HARARE: White Zimbabwe cricketers in dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) over the dismissal of captain Heath Steak are to be disciplined after they defied instructions to report for training on Friday. The 15 players defied an ultimatum to join a practice session Friday in spite of the ZCU making it clear they would face action if they did not show up. This could mean dismissal and loss of perks, including cars and allowances.

A ZCU official said a meeting of the directors would decide shortly on "appropriate action". The number of white players in dispute has now risen to 15 with Charles Coventry and Gavin Ewing joining what Peter Chingoka, president of the ZCU called the "dissidents".

Meanwhile the players' lawyer Chris Venturas met some of the players at his office on Friday in a bid to persuade them to show up and keep the negotiating door open. But they ignored his advice. That was despite Chingoka making it clear that the Streak resignation -- as he put it -- is no longer for discussion. Streak left Harare on Thursday for his ranch and safari operation near Bulawayo, 450 kilometres west of the capital, where Zimbabwe play Sri Lanka next week.

Some of the other players were at a suburban coffee shop while the Zimbabwe team selected to play Sri Lanka on Tuesday and Thursday practised at Harare Sports Club under national coach Geoff Marsh in drizzly conditions. One of the players in dispute, batsman Grant Flower said they would be sending their replacements -- a "good luck message" on a cricketer-to-cricketer basis.

Zimbabwe 's new look squad

Zimbabwe cricket chiefs have named just two white players in a 14-man squad for the opening One-dayer against Sri Lanka next week as the crisis in the sport deepened on Thursday. The 13 white rebels who refused to either train or have their names put forward for selection following the controversial dismissal of skipper Heath Streak were all ignored for the game in Bulawayo on April 20.

The team will be skippered by 20-year-old Tatenda Taibu, who is set to become the youngest ever international skipper, with Dion Ebrahim as his vice-captain. Both have international experience, as has Douglas Hondo. Stuart Matsikenyere, Alester Maregwede, Vusimusi Sibanda, Mluleki Mkala and Waddington Mwayenga have also played at the top level while the others are all newcomers to international cricket.

The squad's two white players are Brendan Taylor, a highly promising 18-year-old batsman and Edward Rainsford, a reliable player in first class cricket.

Protest leaves Zimbabwe in disarray
By Simon Briggs and Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed: 16/04/2004)

The Zimbabwe Cricket Union will make a mockery of international cricket on Tuesday when they go into a one-day match against Sri Lanka with a second-string team featuring none of their leading white players. Negotiations collapsed yesterday between the ZCU and 13 white players, who are calling for changes among the team's selection panel, and who now say they will not play in the Sri Lanka series. Peter Chingoka, the ZCU chairman, responded by threatening to sue any contracted player who did not turn up for practice this morning.

This breakdown of relations could be seen as the logical extension of last year's black armband protest by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga, who spoke out against Robert Mugabe's regime, and were drummed out of the team. The issue now is the spread of Zanu PF party politics into the way cricket is run. Certain elements of the ZCU are believed to be primarily concerned with black empowerment and allegedly will be delighted if Tuesday's team contains no white players. However, the crisis could prove counter-productive for them if it spells the beginning of the end for Zimbabwe cricket.

The 14-strong squad selected yesterday contained seven players uncapped at national level, and only four who could possibly claim that they would make it into a full-strength team on merit. Two are white: Brendan Taylor, 18, and Edward Rainsford, 19.

The dissenting players may hope that the ZCU change their tune when the scale of the probable humiliation facing the team becomes clear. Zimbabwe are to play five one-day internationals and two Tests against Sri Lanka, followed by a full-scale Test tour by Australia.

Ehsan Mani, the International Cricket Council president, said on Tuesday that he "would not seek to intervene in this type of domestic issue", but he must know that if Zimbabwe set off on a self-destructive slide, their collapse would could embarrass the whole game.

Sponsors and broadcasters will not accept a series of mismatches, and Zimbabwe's main sponsor, Nissan, have already registered their concern. The England and Wales Cricket Board, meanwhile, will be quietly hoping that the crisis can give them a way out of October's scheduled tour of Zimbabwe.

This row began two weeks ago when Heath Streak, Zimbabwe's then captain, raised a number of objections about how the team were being selected. He threatened to quit if his demands were not accepted, but immediately found himself sacked by the board. The 12 other players quickly rallied behind him, saying that the newly appointed Tatenda Taibu was too young (at 20) and inexperienced to captain the team. This week they released a public statement claiming that "the ZCU have fallen prey to a small clique of people who do not have the interests of cricket at heart but are simply motivated by non-sporting considerations".

The statement also offered specific instances of maladministration, such as when white batsman Mark Vermeulen was offered twice his match fee to drop out of a one-day international and make room for a black player, or when a ZCU board member reacted to the dropping of three black players by threatening to dig up the pitch and boycott the match.

Streak said yesterday: "I made myself unavailable for the series against Sri Lanka. I'm mentally and physically unprepared to play now, and even at this very late moment, the ZCU have failed to address key issues we've raised."

As for the threat of legal action, Grant Flower, another of the dissenting players, said that most of the players had left Harare already and would be unable to attend this morning's practice even if they had wanted to.

The ZCU's shambolic negotiations were exposed yesterday when they claimed they had bowed to some of the players demands by appointing two new selectors in Richie Kaschula and Pommie Mbangwa. But Mbangwa said he had never been contacted, and in any case would be unable to take up the position, which would require him to give up his television commentary work.

At a press conference yesterday, Chingoka said he had been given information by a "reliable" source that the parents of some of the players, who he implied were whites, had "devised a strategy to destroy Zimbabwe cricket this year".

The Herald
16 April 2004

Outside forces behind ZCU rebels

Acting Sports Editor

THE Zimbabwe Cricket Union believes that there are some outside forces behind the current problems between the union and a group of 13 contracted white players who have made themselves unavailable for the one-day series against Sri Lanka. Former captain Heath Streak, Stuart Carlisle, Grant Flower, Craig Wishart, Andy Blignaut, Ray Price, Gary Brent, Sean Ervine, Travis Friend, Barney Rogers, Trevor Gripper, Richard Sims and Neil Ferreira are said to have indicated to ZCU managing director Vince Hogg that they will not be available for the squad. Instead they have presented the ZCU with a new set of demands and yesterday a new-look selection panel had to name a 14-member provisional squad of 11 blacks, two whites and an Indian for the first match at Queens on April 20. The new panel consists of Steven Mangongo (convenor), Macsood Ebrahim, Walter Chawaguta and former national team off-spinner Richard Herbert Kaschula

However, the ZCU last night ordered the rebel players to report for training today or face sanctions and possible expulsion from Zimbabwe cricket. ZCU chairman Peter Chingoka said yesterday the outside forces are against the racial integration programme being undertaken by the union to try and spread the game, previously exclusive to the white community, to every Zimbabwean. "About eight weeks ago we gathered from a reliable source that there is a small group of people that has devised a strategy, in their own words, "to destroy Zimbabwean cricket this year." The group includes parents with a vicarious interest on behalf of their sons who are contracted or are future players. I alerted the managing director and also a respected former international cricketer/commentator.

"The (ZCU) board hopes that this group is not exerting pressure at this time when our genuine and bona fide efforts to resolve issues and move forward appear to be scuppered by forces that are determined to upstage our policy of inclusivity in line with our mission statement which reads:

"To actively promote, develop and administer the game of cricket for the benefit of all Zimbabweans without discrimination of any kind and to instill and sustain national pride in Zimbabwean cricket by being a successful performer in the sports and entertainment industry and our hitherto successful measurers aimed at integration".

"The union stands by that programme which seeks to achieve inclusivity in Zimbabwean cricket," said Chingoka in a statement yesterday.

It is believed that the group linked to the current problems is made up of disgruntled hardcore Rhodesians, who were expecting the likes of world champions Australia and England to boycott their tours to Zimbabwe this year. Now that the two countries have confirmed the tours, the group is now working on destabilising the sport from within and, in the process, force the cancellation of such tours and denying ZCU the much-needed revenue to finance development programmes.

The clandestine group, which is understood to regularly meet at Royal Harare Golf Club in the capital, is believed to be receiving support from farmers who lost farms under the Governments land reform programme and some administrators from provincial cricket associations like Masvingo, Matabeleland Country District, Manicaland and Midlands. Other meetings are being held at the members homes and offices. The provincial administrators are said to be strongly against the racial integration programme and it is interesting to note that of the rebel players, Wishart, Price, Ervine and Friend are Midlands players while Brent, Rogers, Gripper, Sims and Ferreira are Manicaland players.

Matabeleland Country Districts are slowly becoming irrelevant while virtually nothing has been done to promote the game in Masvingo as the main beneficiaries are likely to be predominantly black.

The Rhodies are also fighting against the advancement of black cricketers given that the sport has become a multi-million dollar industry over the past years. Senior players, most of whom are white, work an average of three hours a day, except during matches, and earn more than chief executive officers of top companies in the country who work and average of nine hours a day. Although the ZCU refused to reveal figures, citing the confidentiality clause in their contracts with players, it is reliably understood that Streak has earned around $285 million since the start of the season in September last year, about $40 million a month. The opponents of racial integration are not happy to have such huge salaries earned by the likes of new captain Tatenda Taibu and they are making every efforts to influence major sponsors of the ZCU to withdraw funding.

The ZCU had on Wednesday night acceded to the demands by the rebel players to change the composition of the selection panel and also reduce it to four members by dropping former convenor Ali Shah, coach Geoff Marsh and John Brent. Mangongo took over from Shah while Ebrahim was the only other selector to be retained while Kaschula and Mbangwa, a favourite of the rebels, were brought in. Mbangwa however, declined the appointment saying that he had not been approached before the announcement was made and the ZCU had to bring in national Under-19 and Matabeleland coach Walter Chawaguta. But the changes, despite the fact that the ZCU is not obliged to take orders from employees with regards appointments, the rebels are understood to have shifted goalposts again making it difficult for an amicable settlement.

Now the 13 players, of which only about six will have their absence felt, face the chop if they fail to report for training this morning as the ZCU tries to stamp its authority and face the next challenges. The 13-players who have indicated that they will not be available for selection have not been considered for this match. They have been called upon to report for practice at 10 oclock tomorrow morning (today), failing which action will be taken against them in terms of their contract. If any of these players comply with this requirement, they will be considered for selection for future tours," said the ZCU.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan cricket squad is expected in the country today to start preparations for the five-match one-day series, which starts in Bulawayo on Tuesday.

Zim squad for first Nissan ODI

Tatenda Taibu (captain), Dion Ebrahim, Vusi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Alester Maregwede, Mluleki Nkala, Waddington Mwayenga, Brendon Taylor, Douglas Hondo, Prosper Utseya, Tawanda Mpariwa, Edward Rainsford, Tinashe Panyangara.Business Day

Zimbabwe cricket rebels given an ultimatum

Business Day
18 April 2004

HARARE - Zimbabwe's cricket rebels were considering a three week deadline from their cricket chiefs in which to withdraw a demand for the reinstatement of captain Heath Streak and to make themselves available for selection in future matches and tours. The Zimbabwe Cricket Union, which told them that if they did not show up for practice Friday "action would be taken", have held back by giving them this ultimatum. But if they do not comply by the deadline, May 8, they will either be suspended or dismissed. ZCU chairman Peter Chingoka said Thursday: "They are employees, after all."

The 15 dissident players, although advised to soften their stance by their lawyer Chris Ventura, seem hell bent on continuing the stand-off over the removal of Streak in particular.

The chief executive of the ZCU, Vincent Hogg, told AFP there had been no writs and counter-writs as reported in the Times of London and other British newspapers on Saturday. "The letter is what is on the table" he said.

Neither Venturas, nor any senior white player, was available for comment or to give initial reaction to the ZCU letter.

Meanwhile the new Zimbabwe squad, consisting of 12 blacks and two white teenagers, arrived in Bulawayo for hasty preparations ahead of their clash on Tuesday with one-day specialists Sri Lanka, who can expect to give no quarter to their unexpected and little known opponents. The Sri Lankans, under coach John Dyson, had a warm-up session at the Queens Sports Club ground on Saturday. There will be further practice sessions in the next two days.

Streak's rebels head for court

Telford Vice in Durban Saturday April 17, 2004
The Guardian>

The battle for Zimbabwean cricket threatened to rumble into the courts yesterday when the board and the rebel players began legal action against each other. Each has accused the other of breach of contract, and the parties have 21 days to settle their differences. If they do not the matter will be dragged into court, where the passions that have led to this impasse can only be inflamed. "This could get ugly," a player said with almost comical understatement.

The first salvo in the legal war was fired yesterday morning after the former captain Heath Streak and his 12 rebels failed to turn up, as ordered, to a training session in Harare.

"The next stage is letters to the individuals asking them to remedy their breach [of contract]," the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) managing director Vince Hogg said after rain prevented the training session from going ahead.

A player said the rebels were dissuaded from an attempt at reconciliation by a conversation between the opposing lawyers. "We were going to pitch up at the practice, not to practise but to walk into Vince Hogg's office and have a discussion," the player said.

"We were going to act in good faith to try and solve the crisis. But we received the letter at 8.45am saying that if we didn't arrive at 10am we would be in breach of contract. Our lawyer called their lawyer, who said the ZCU were not going to budge on any of our demands. So what was the point of us going there? They have closed the door on us."

The players' lawyer, Chris Venturas, is confident they have a case. "I feel we have enough to allege a fundamental breach of their contract," he said. "It's an implicit term of a contract that you have a reasonable board of selectors. I believe there is consensus that that hasn't happened."

The 13 players have refused to play in the imminent series against Sri Lanka, and on Thursday the ZCU named an inexperienced squad for the first of five one-day internationals, in Bulawayo on Tuesday. The expectation is that Sri Lanka will rout Tatenda Taibu's team, but if the visitors fail to do so it will reduce the rebels' bargaining power. "How those games go could make us or break us," a player said.

Black power or white mischief?

Both sides on the offensive but defeat for cricket still the likely outcome

Kevin Mitchell Sunday
April 18, 2004
The Observer

Peter Chingoka, a man who knows how to tread a fine line, will have to be at his diplomatic best when he goes to Lord's on Tuesday to persuade England to tour Zimbabwe in October. As chairman of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU), Chingoka lent his name last week to claims that a clandestine group of 'disgruntled hardcore Rhodesians' had been plotting for two months to destroy the game in his country. It is an explosive allegation, one with consequences some way north of the Limpopo.

Chingoka told the Harare Herald on Friday: 'About eight weeks ago we gathered from a reliable source that there is a small group of people that has devised a strategy, in their own words, "to destroy Zimbabwean cricket this year". The group includes parents with a vicarious interest on behalf of their sons who are contracted or are future players.'

When he sits down with the England and Wales Cricket Board, Chingoka will try to hold them to the promise made a year ago by their chairman, David Morgan, that England would fulfil their tour commitment, despite their having boycotted Zimbabwe during the World Cup. Even with his hardline ZCU aide Ozias Bvute by his side, he could find it a hard argument to win.

The 'sons of the plotters', as Chingoka would see them, have been sacked - 15 in all after the defection of a further two white players yesterday added to the 13 headed by the former captain, Heath Streak. They have been replaced by what a father of one of the rebels described as 'a bunch of schoolboys'. Starting with a one-day game in Bulawayo on Tuesday, they play Sri Lanka this month and then, in what could be a nightmare experience, Australia next month. If England do tour in October, they will almost certainly be facing a demoralised shell of a side.

The new 14-man squad contains perhaps four with genuine claims for international selection. Seven are uncapped. Brendan Taylor, 18, and Edward Rainsford, 19, are white. Eleven are black, and there is one player of Indian descent.

Morgan was taken aback yesterday when informed of Chingoka's claims of a 'Rhodesian plot'. He said: 'I was talking with Peter on Friday, and he did not mention this to me. This is the first I've heard of it. Yes, they are very serious allegations.'

Morgan would not be drawn on whether Chingoka's comments would colour their discussions, but it is inconceivable the matter will not be raised. It has already inspired a furious debate in Zimbabwe.

Morgan repeated that only a Government directive or substantiated concerns about safety could stop the tour. Neither looks likely. 'I will be interested to hear first-hand from Peter about the situation there, about the players' alleged withdrawal of their labour. We could only send an A team if the forecast circumstances continue to prevail. But the decision on who should tour is up to the ZCU, who issued the original invitation. We are still hoping for a resolution.'

The International Cricket Council also vacillate. Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, could only say that he 'would not seek to intervene in this type of domestic issue'. A spokesman yesterday refused to comment on Chingoka's latest allegations, but conceded: 'They do sound serious.' Chingoka also meets the ICC this week.

While the ECB and the ICC give the impression of remaining ignorant of the full extent of the 'Streak Uprising' in Zimbabwe, the temperature has risen markedly there in the past 24 hours.

No names were mentioned, but it is likely Chingoka was referring to the fathers of Heath Streak, Trevor Gripper and Stuart Carlisle.

'The allegations are not true,' Streak said yesterday. 'How can parents of players who derive a living from cricket destroy the game? What the ZCU is doing is trying to take the attention away from the allegations we have levelled against them. These comments will only further divide Zimbabwe cricket.'

The conspiracy theory runs like this: A knot of unreconstructed old colonialists met secretly in their homes and at the Royal Harare Golf Club over the past two months, concerned that the game they once considered their own had been hijacked by the black majority. They encouraged Streak and his white team-mates to provoke a confrontation by demanding a change in the selection panel, then to strike and force the ZCU to sack them. This would weaken the team, demoralise the ZCU, stop the integration of blacks and whites on the cricket field and persuade visiting teams not to tour, thus robbing the union of millions in revenue.

As fanciful as it sounds, it is a theory to which Chingoka has given credence.

At the heart of the matter in this cash-strapped country is money. In a leak that most likely came from the ZCU, the Herald claims that Streak, Zimbabwe's only world-class player and who will soon rejoin Warwickshire, earns nearly £6,000 a month. His earnings this season are already £35,500. Not bad for the captain of a cricket team representing an economically ravaged nation, more than 70 per cent of whose 12 million citizens live below the poverty line.

In an editorial on Friday, the Herald said: 'The opponents of racial integration are not happy to have such huge salaries earned by the likes of new captain Tatenda Taibu and they are making every effort to influence major sponsors of the ZCU to withdraw funding.'

Streak and his rebels, who regard themselves as integrationists, reject claims that they are acting on behalf of a white clique. Their concerns, outlined in a six-page document last Wednesday, address fundamental issues of selection policy and more serious claims of corruption and intimidation.

The ZCU, which they see as a tool of Robert Mugabe's regime, were guilty of 'racial and ethnic discrimination in the selection of the national team'.

They say the ZCU are bending to the wishes of Zimbabwe's president, who is also their patron, in an unseemly rush for an all-black team. The players say they are being victimised, black as well as white, if they do not share the world view of the ruling Zanu-PF party. They see Mugabe place-men holding power in the ZCU and they want change.

Dissidents at large in Zimbabwe are punished physically and financially, cricketing rebels are dropped from the national team, as Henry Olonga and Andy Flower discovered when they spoke out during the World Cup.

For years, Streak and the Zimbabwe coach, the former Australia Test player Geoff Marsh, denied Mugabe influenced team selections. This has been exposed as, at best, a white lie, even if they considered it a necessary expedient to maintain some sort of order. In a country that lost its last independent newspaper in February, dissent and total candour are exotic commodities.

Mehluli Sibanda, a journalist on the Sunday News , told The Observer yesterday how dissenters are dealt with. Two days after Streak resigned, Sibanda wrote that the national team were dominated by players from Takashinga, an all-black cricket club in Harare, and Universals, also in Harare. Of the previous five selectors, Ali Shah and Macsood Ebrahim have interests in Universals, while Steven Mangongo is one of the founder members of the Takashinga.

He said the quota system, instituted in 2001, had benefited mainly players from these clubs.

'Since that article came out I have been receiving threatening calls on my mobile from a ZCU board member and I am convinced that he is making these threats on behalf of some people. He threatened me with unspecified action and also threatened to report me to the Minister of State for Information and Publicity in the office of the president and cabinet, Jonathan Moyo, that I am siding with a white man.'

While the ICC and the ECB protest they are powerless to act on moral or political grounds, even against a backdrop of intimidation, football's governing body has had no such reluctance in similar situations.

Since 2001, Fifa have suspended six of their 200-plus member national associations for political interference by the governments. They are Azerbaijan (where England play a 2006 World Cup qualifier this October), Guatemala, Guinea, Greece, Nepal and Cameroon.

Fifa told The Observer that the Azerbaijan decision was 'unavoidable due to the repeated violations of sport's fundamental ethical principles'. Cricket, though, chooses to live in the past. Concerned that the players were getting above themselves, Chingoka said last week: 'We simply cannot be dictated to.' When Olonga and Flower spoke last year about the 'death of democracy', they knew what they were talking about.

Today is Independence Day in Zimbabwe, an occasion for celebrating 24 years of rule by Robert Mugabe with a parade through the streets of Harare. But, as the bands prepare to rouse the people in praise of their leader, the cheers will be muted and, it is said, insurrection is in the air. At the Royal Harare Golf Club.

Zimbabwe union fires 15 rebel players

Mon May 10, 2004 10:33 PM HARARE (Reuters)

- The Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) has fired former captain Heath Streak and 14 other rebel players who went into dispute with the board last month. A ZCU statement on Monday said the players had violated a 21-day breach clause in their contracts by not returning to work by May 7. The decision was taken at a ZCU board meeting earlier in the day.

The dispute started on April 2 when Streak's tenure as Zimbabwe captain ended after he questioned the composition of the selection panel. Fourteen other white players allied themselves with Streak, and the group demanded arbitration on his removal from the captaincy, the composition of the selection panel and alleged poor conduct of ZCU officials. The ZCU's decision to fire the players reached them while they were meeting with their lawyer to draft their agreement to the board's offer of mediation to resolve the dispute.

"We were talking about officially accepting mediation and we were going to make ourselves available for practice," Stuart Carlisle, one of the rebels, told Reuters. "Then we got a phone call to say our contracts have been terminated."

Carlisle said the ZCU did not appear to have acknowledged that the players suspended their boycott last week and made themselves available, albeit temporarily. "They did not accept that we remedied our original breach of contract when we went back to practice last week," he said.Carlisle said the ZCU had demanded that the players return their sponsored vehicles by Wednesday and would pay them until Friday. Carlisle said the dispute could end up in the civil courts. "If they sue us, we will definitely counter-sue," Carlisle said. "We feel we have a very strong case, and we're going to get an advocate involved."

The dispute led to Zimbabwe selecting an inexperienced squad for the one-day series against Sri Lanka, which the visitors won 5-0. A team drawn from a similar squad lost the first test by an innings and 240 runs on Saturday.

The Telegraph

Zimbabwe's white rebels head for greener pastures
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare
Filed: 04/06/2004

In what looks like a valedictory statement, Zimbabwe's rebel cricketers have wished the new young national side luck for the future, saying they will help them at every opportunity.

A statement signed by 13 white cricketers was due to be published in Zimbabwe today. It comes as most of them head off for jobs overseas, knowing that they will probably never return home. The statement says: "Two months ago we decided to withdraw our services from the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. Our action was in solidarity with our national captain, Heath Streak, who was unlawfully dismissed, as well as in protest at the unfair and discriminatory employment practices perpetrated against us by individuals of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.

"It was our hope that meaningful dialogue and negotiation would address our problems with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union . . . to achieve our goal to safeguard the future of Zimbabwe cricket.Our actions have never been racially or politically motivated. In fact, through our years of service and dedication we feel we have been an example of a successful and multi-racial team. Despite some perceptions, we have proven time and time again that Zimbabweans of all colours can work together and achieve excellence as shown in our last two World Cups. As patriotic citizens of the country we love, we still hope a solution will be achieved and that we can soon return to playing for Zimbabwe."

The statement ended by thanking loyal supporters "who have assisted us in becoming a highly competitive force in international cricket. We would also like to wish the current Zimbabwe cricket team the best of luck for the future. We will continue to support the players in every possible way."

The statement was signed by Heath Streak, Grant Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Craig Wishart, Trevor Gripper, Andy Blignaught, Gary Brent, Travis Friend, Sean Ervine, Ray Price, Barney Rodgers, Neil Ferreria, Richard Simms.

Streak leaves today to join Warwickshire, where he will be under contract for two months. The county are seeking clearance from the England and Wales Cricket Board to play him in next Wednesday's championship match against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston following the unexpected early arrival of the deposed Zimbabwe captain. Last week veteran batsman Flower left for Britain along with Gripper. Blignaught and Ervine have been signed by Australian sides. The others say they are reasonably confident of finding jobs, mostly overseas.

Some parents and friends of the departing players say the ZCU are confident of retaining Test status at the International Cricket Council meeting later this month, because white member states are outnumbered by black cricket unions. "The ZCU seem sure that Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the West Indies will support them in racial solidarity," said one cricketing parent who asked not to be named as he continues to live in Zimbabwe.

The players privately say that they do not believe that the ZCU, as it is presently constituted, will ever address their fundamental grievances and therefore none of them will turn out for Zimbabwe again. "We wish that was not so," Streak said.

Local sponsors say they are evaluating whether it is in their best business interests to continue to support Zimbabwe cricket.

National Business Review
1 June 2004

Will the sacrifices of 15 brave Zimbabweans go for nought?
Column: Corporate box by Paul Verdon

When Mohammad Rafique, a No 9 batsman from the world's lowliest cricket-playing minnow, Bangladesh, can score his maiden century in a total of 416 against a former global powerhouse, the West Indies ­ and in St Lucia, not Dhaka ­ we know this grand old dame of sport has finally lost her marbles. Another country keen to get above its station throughout most of cricketing history, New Zealand, is playing at Headingley, Leeds, eager to make amends for botching its chances in the opening test of the series against England, home of the game but whose national team has also known some lean times in recent decades But perhaps the most fascinating struggle taking place in today's cricketing world is that being fought offstage in Zimbabwe.

The strokemaking push and pull of a battle between racially motivated administrators of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (controlled by their political masters; the patron of the Zimbabwe union is, after all, one Robert Mugabe) and 15 white "rebel" cricketers may result in the country being stripped of its test status at this month's meeting of the International Cricket Council. It won't be before time. The ICC has fiddled while the game burned for far too long.

That the ICC played part of last year's World Cup in Zimbabwe under political conditions that could only be described as a police state, said a lot about the calibre of its leadership ­ and none of it good. It eventually took a brave act by two Zimbabwean World Cup team members, Andy Flower, a white player, and Henry Olonga, a black one, to bring the true situation to the world. They wore black wristbands to symbolise the death of freedom in their country. Their defiance of the brutal Mugabe henchmen who control Zimbabwe was remarkable. The criminals had left no stone unturned in their efforts to ensure the western press gained a rosy view of the country. State propaganda ensured the naive Malcolm Speed and fellow ICC officials became unwitting publicity tools of the regime and even accomplices. Retribution was swift for Flower and Olonga. Both players are now exiled overseas. For a time it seemed their sacrifices had been for nought. The ebb and flow of cricket in their country seemed hardly to have been disturbed ­ and the ICC's precious test schedule neither.

But under the surface, a festering sore was about to break out. Zimbabwe has a tiny pool of players and struggles to compete internationally. The ZCU championed the policy of selecting up to five coloured players ­ to "help promote the game." But the white players who made up most of the game's elite finally decided enough was enough. The outside world first learned of the rebellion two months ago when Heath Streak, Zimbabwe's captain and one of its few genuine world-class players, was sacked by the ZCU.

In typical Mugabe-speak, half-truth fashion, the ZCU announced that Streak had resigned because he was unhappy with the composition of the selectors' panel. But Streak's father said he hadn't resigned. Streak later revealed that "the straw that broke the camel's back" for him was during the earlier series against Bangladesh. He claimed a board director reconvened the selection panel and ordered the selectors to re-select the side. Streak also claimed another director had offered to pay a double match fee for a white player to sit out a match so that a black player could take the field. Streak said he and Geoff "Swampy" Marsh, the former Australian batsman who coaches Zimbabwe but who has also decided to quit, refused to be involved in the deal. Streak would later say that some of the young black players who replaced him and the other "rebels," were against selection on non-merit basis, but were threatened if they made a stand.

Fourteen other leading players had quickly backed Streak and announced a boycott of the series against the touring Sri Lankans. They said there had been racial and ethnic discrimination. That there had been threats of pitch invasions and digging up the pitch by at least one board member if more black players weren't chosen. They demanded that Streak be reinstated, one selector be sacked and the board apologise for a series of "transgressions." But the ZCU was having none of it. It declined the players' proposal for arbitration. Then the legal writs flew from both camps.

Left out of the Zimbabwe squad were players such as Grant Flower, brother of Andy, who hadn't missed a test for 11 years except through injury; Craig Wishart, the country's most reliable batsman; Andy Blignaut, who had become the first Zimbabwean to record a hat-trick in a test and Stuart Carlisle, who had hit two test centuries in the past five months. In their places were two remaining whites, 10 blacks and one Asian player. As a result, Zimbabwe was crushed 2-0 in the test series and 5-0 in the one-dayers. This led to the cancellation of the test series against the touring Australians ­ after the Aussies had arrived there. England, the only country to refuse to play matches in Zimbabwe during the World Cup and heavily fined for its action, is due to tour there later this year.

The International Players' Association has also got into the act. It says any ICC investigation must consider that the ZCU had ignored cricket's "core values." Its CEO, Tim May, pointed out that these values, including equality and integrity, were stated in the ICC's 2001-2005 strategic plan and endorsed by the sport's 10 test-playing nations. May, probably referring to the betting scandals that have rocked the game, said the behaviour of players had been heavily scrutinised over recent years. "If the ICC fails to investigate these allegations, then apathy will permeate the player ranks," May said. "But more importantly, 15 brave and talented men who had the guts to stand up for their principles, may be lost to the game of international cricket."

Reuters

Zimbabwe rebels abandon struggle
Fri 4 June, 2004 15:27

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's rebels have abandoned their bitter struggle with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU).

"My clients want to move on," the players' lawyer, Chris Venturas, told Reuters on Friday. "They talked about it and decided it is time to disband and fly north. I think there is a very remote chance that they will play for Zimbabwe again."

Zimbabwe have been forced to pick a second-string team since April 2 when 15 white players made themselves unavailable over what they see as racially driven selection policies. Their stand was sparked by Heath Streak's removal from the captaincy after he questioned the composition of the selection panel. The inexperienced Zimbabwe team has since lost 10 consecutive matches to Sri Lanka and Australia and the dispute also led to last month's test series with Australia being called off over concerns about Zimbabwe's test playing status. The ZCU fired the players for the stand they took, and the rebels asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) on May 20 to form a dispute resolution committee to arbitrate.

Venturas said his clients had yet to receive a response from the ICC.

"We gave the ICC seven days to get back to us and we haven't heard anything," Venturas said. "We have to assume that nothing is happening, or even if it is it's too late for my clients. They want to move on."

SIGNED STATEMENT

A statement signed by 13 of the rebels and released on Friday said they took their action "in solidarity with our national captain, Heath Streak, who was unlawfully dismissed, as well as in protest at the unfair and discriminatory employment practices perpetrated against us by individuals of the ZCU".

The rebels alleged that ZCU officials committed transgressions, including interfering with the selection process and making threats to try to ensure teams included more black players.

"It was our hope that meaningful dialogue and negotiation would address our problems with the ZCU," the statement said.

"Long hours in meetings with them were spent trying to achieve our goal to safeguard the future of Zimbabwe cricket.

"For the record, our actions have never been racially or politically motivated. In fact, through our years of service and dedication we feel we have been an example of a successful and multi-racial team.

"Despite some perceptions, we have proven time and time again that Zimbabweans of all colours can work together and achieve excellence as shown in our last two World Cups."

The statement was signed by Streak, Grant Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Craig Wishart, Trevor Gripper, Andy Blignaut, Gary Brent, Travis Friend, Sean Ervine, Ray Price, Barney Rodgers, Neil Ferreria and Richard Simms.

Several rebels have made arrangements to play elsewhere, while an unofficial tour by them as a team has also been mooted.

Pace bowler Streak will play for Warwickshire, while Blignaut has been signed by Tasmania and fellow all rounder Ervine has moved to Perth and will also play for Hampshire.

Batsmen Gripper and Flower will play club cricket in England.

Zimbabwe rebels announce charity tour

Wisden Cricinfo staff

June 28, 2004

Zimbabwe's official national side may have been suspended from Test cricket until the end of the year, but there will still be a representative side playing in England this summer. Fourteen of the 15 rebel cricketers who were sacked by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union last month are set to arrive in mid-July for a series of friendly matches against local and international opposition.

The rebels, who were driven out of the Zimbabwe Test team by the rising levels of political interference in selection, have reformed as a team called "The Red Lions". Their week-long tour, beginning on July 14, will include matches against the celebrity pub team, Lashings, as well as a Zimbabwe World XI and an English XI.

The players will also be attending fundraising events during their stay, including a golf day, in aid of two good causes, the Cricketers Trust and the Zimbabwe Pensioners Trust. With the rampant inflation and continuing weakening of the Zimbabwean dollar, pensioners throughout the country have fallen victim to the increasingly oppressive climate of Robert Mugabe's regime.

The team's mission statement is a far cry from the legal wrangling and political machinations that dogged their final months as Test cricketers. The tour, they say, will be conducted in an atmosphere of "fun and frivolity" in a country where the players have gained several friends and fans over their years of touring. In addition, there will be question-and-answer sessions at local schools and cricket clubs to help promote the game.

The team will be captained by Heath Streak, while the Lashings XI is expected to include such big names as Richie Richardson, Mark Waugh and Courtney Walsh. Meanwhile Andy Flower and Henry Olonga, the original rebels from the 2003 World Cup, will be among the prominent names in the Zimbabwe World XI. Additional fixtures are under discussion

The Red Lions Andy Blignaut, Gary Brent, Stuart Carlisle, Charles Coventry, Sean Ervine, Gavin Ewing, Neil Ferreira, Grant Flower, Travis Friend, Raymond Price, Barney Rogers, Richard Sims, Heath Streak, Craig Wishart.

Lashings XI Richie Richardson, Mark Waugh, Henry Olonga, Stuart Williams, Chris Harris, Junior Murray, Sherwin Campbell, Franklin Rose, Grant Flower, Vasbert Drakes, Eldine Baptiste, Greg Blewett, Hamish Marshall, Rashid Latif, Courtney Walsh.

Zimbabwe World XI (includes) Andy Flower, Murray Goodwin, Henry Olonga, Paul Strang, Trevor Penney, Doug Marillier, Craig Evans, Gus McKay

Itinerary Wed July 14 Red Lions v Lashings, Wimbledon CC Fri July 16 Red Lions v Zim World XI, Wimbledon CC Mon July 19 Golf day Wed July 21 Red Lions v English XI, Stowe

ZCU donation shocks Carlisle
By Charles Randall (Filed: 12/07/2004)

With Zimbabwean cricket in deep financial crisis, Stuart Carlisle, the captain of the country's rebel players, expressed amazement yesterday at the decision by the game's authorities in Harare to donate £1,000 to the national bodybuilding and weightlifting association. The money, ZW$10 million, will allow the Mr and Ms Iron Man contest to go ahead as planned in Harare, according to a report in The Herald newspaper on Saturday. Carlisle said: "I find that very strange, as the Zimbabwe Cricket Union so often talk about a shortage of money.''

The national league has been scrapped recently and funding assistance for the Zimbabwean players' association has been consistently refused. Nearly all the 25 or so cricket grounds in the countryside around Harare have been closed or allowed to decay, with Harare South - a beautiful venue familiar to international touring sides - the most notable casualty.

The final group of Zimbabwe players are due to fly into London today to start their short fund-raising tour under the banner of Red Lions, with the first match against Lashings, an evening game at Wimbledon, confirmed for Wednesday.

Carlisle and the players' lawyer, Chris Venturas, have an important date at Lord's next week, a meeting with Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council. The ICC gave the ZCU 14 days to start a process for sorting out the players' grievances or face international arbitration. With that term due to expire, Carlisle has a chance to present his case for wider justice against what the 15 rebel players see as racism and political bias.

Carlisle and several players still hope to return to play for Zimbabwe. "Playing international cricket is still the No 1 prize, but it's hard to say how many players would return as a few now have overseas contracts,'' he said.

Clive Field, a Red Lions organiser, said: "We have chosen England as the destination for our inaugural tour because we have many friends and fans there gained from our past touring experiences."

The Red Lions are due to visit Wimbledon, King's College Wimbledon, Stowe School, Blossomfields in Birmingham, Cuckfield and possibly Weybridge.