Zimbabwe and Bangladesh go Bonkers in Bulawayo

Whilst the cricketing world has been looking forward to the Fifth Ashes Test at the Oval, remarkable things have been happening in Zimbabwe. Trailing 2-1 in the ODI series against Bangladesh, the hosts must surely have fancied their chances of levelling it after posting 312 in their 50 overs, including a world-record-equalling 19 not out [...]

Read Full Post »

Speed & Zimbabwe

Malcolm Speed has revealed that his ‘vigorous’ opposition to the ICC’s inaction over Zimbabwe was the main factor in his sacking. With the situation in Zimbabwe showing little sign of improvement, the links between Zimbabwe Cricket and the ruling Zanu-PF party are more and more embarrassing for the ICC, and the lack of action is [...]

Read Full Post »

Zimbabwe run Sri Lanka close

The First ODI between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe was a little one-sided. The Second was a hammering, with the tourists winning by 9 wickets with 194 balls remaining. There was little in these first two matches, then, that suggested the Third ODI would be a close run thing. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka scraped home by a [...]

Read Full Post »

The ICC and Zimbabwe

Despite the recent political turmoil and the ongoing social crisis, not to mention the fact that its cricketing infrastructure is non-existent, Zimbabwe has been allowed to remain as a full member of the ICC. This decision (or rather, non-decision) continues the ICC’s long tradition of burying its collective head in the sand where Zimbabwe is [...]

Read Full Post »

England heap the pressure on the ICC over Zimbabwe

Following Cricket South Africa’s suspension of bilateral agreements with Zimbabwe yesterday, the ECB (in response to government pressure, with the matter even being discussed in today’s Prime Minister’s Questions) has followed suit, which has increased the pressure on the ICC to take strong action when they meet to discuss the issue next week. Hopefully, the [...]

Read Full Post »

The ICC and Cricket South Africa finally take action on Zimbabwe

Following the recent political developments in Zimbabwe, it has been made painfully clear that the cricketing authorities would have to take some sort of action. Today, Cricket South Africa (possibly reacting to player unrest and media pressure) severed its bilateral agreements with the Zimbabwean cricketing authorities. This, along with the general tone of recent developments, [...]

Read Full Post »

A role for cricket in changing Zimbabwe?

Anyone who’s been watching the news recently will know all about what’s been happening in Zimbabwe (except, of course, for those who live in Zimbabwe). The rapidly deteriorating situation in the country will have many effects, but one of the (admittedly less important, given the many other problems) repercussions of recent developments will be that [...]

Read Full Post »

Mugabe out, Zimbabwe back in?

If reports are to be believed, then Robert Mugabe could be on his way out. This will, most importantly, raise the prospect of a new hope for Zimbabwe to tackle the incredible inflation, corruption and life expectancy issues it currently faces. If Mugabe is removed from office, there may be (far more trivial) cricketing repercussions. [...]

Read Full Post »

Bangladesh and two-tier Tests

Dileep Premachandran’s piece today on Bangladeshi cricket raised an interesting question about the number of Tests that teams such as Bangladesh should play. The option of just having them play Zimbabwe every five minutes, which might have had some merit in different circumstances, is obviously unavailable given the current situation. Does this mean, I wonder, [...]

Read Full Post »