Blog – What is Zimbabwe Cricket’s stance regarding the ICC plans to concentrate power in the so called big 3 of Cricket?

Blog

By Senator David Coltart

7th February 2014

I am very concerned about what is happening in the ICC and the vote which will take place tomorrow in Singapore which may affect the future of Zimbabwe Cricket. The big 3 (finance wise that is) in world cricket India, Australia and England have proposed a new system of governance of the ICC which will give those Boards immense power.

Our own Zimbabwe Cricket administration have been absolutely quiet about their stance in this matter. Geoffrey Boycott, who always speaks his mind, said the following about the matter in an interview last week on ESPN Cricinfo:

“RK: Okay let’s take the question of the week, and it’s a major talking point in cricket at the moment as the ICC is looking at a potential overhaul in administration and Ishan Mandrekar and Saroj from the USA send this question: Geoffrey, what are your thoughts on the two-tier Test system that the ICC is currently mulling over. Also, how do you think the Big Three taking over executive control of the ICC will affect cricket in the years ahead?

Geoffrey Boycott: Well in some ways, I’m amazed and shocked, and then in another way, I’m not. It’s the arrogance and the greed of those three countries in wanting to rule the world of cricket. Having a two-tier Test system will be the death knell for anybody in the second division.

Already, Test cricket is under pressure around the word. India will say it isn’t because they’re making zillions of money. But you look at the crowds actually going for Test matches, they’re pathetic compared to the blooming cricket of the ’60s, ’70s when grounds in India were full for Test matches, you couldn’t get a seat.

You look in South Africa, the crowds are down, West Indies and New Zealand hardly get anybody there, Pakistan couldn’t get anybody there in their own country before they had to play in the UAE. People have stopped coming to Test matches.

Crowds have been decreasing for many years now. The New Zealands, the West Indies, the Sri Lankas, the Pakistans, they’re important to cricket. And their crowds have been going down and down for ages.

Now England are all right, you’ll say. We play to full houses and quite a lot of money, we get zillions of money. India are all right ’cause they get television money. TV money is holding the game together and the sponsorship and the perimeter advertising and so on is where the game is being held together in Test matches.

Now then, if you go to a two-tier system and the second-tier countries can’t get the same amount of television money, they’re not playing England and India and not getting the advertising and television money, if they lose such revenue, which is going to happen, some of these countries will eventually stop playing Test match cricket.

They won’t be able to make it financially viable. It’s not because they don’t want to. They want to carry on, it’s the bedrock of the game. If there’s a second tier and the money keeps draining away, they’ll say, “We can’t play Test matches, it’s costing us money.”

It’s already getting hard for some of these countries to play in front of half-empty stadiums. Most players, and I’d say administrators, want Test cricket to survive, but with spectators, get less and less. If this money starts to dry up, then they’ll say what’s the point in playing Tests, there’s no point at all.

They’ll just play more T20 and ODI cricket, make money and that’ll be a win-win-win. So there’ll be more of that and eventually no Test matches one day. It’ll be very, very sad but it will happen.

And India, England and Australia, playing each other a lot, eventually the public will get tired of it. There will be no variety, and variety’s been so important in the history of the game. That is what has held cricket together.

Different countries have had their great teams. West Indies, Australia, England, South Africa, but we all stuck together and so Test cricket has survived. And the worst arrogance of all, to make more money for these countries, is if you go to two divisions and say you want the best teams to play each other, there’s no relegation for the top three.

How ridiculous and arrogant it is. It reminds me of George Orwell’s book Animal Farm. He said, “Everybody is equal, but some are more equal than the others”, and that’s what it’s going to be at this meeting.

You’ve got Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, who’ll be totally dependent on India for television. They may vote to support India out of fear that India won’t tour their countries, so denying them huge television revenue, and there will be other countries with no money as well, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, they may be frightened too that India won’t tour their countries or they’ll just pull out like they did with South Africa recently. If these countries are weak and side with India out of fear, then they’re misguided and hastening their own death knell.”

Is Zimbabwe going to side with India out of fear? Has perhaps India offered to help our Board with money to pay its players – ie short term gain for long term subservience to India?

In the interests of transparency our Board has a duty to state its position. Are we going to allow 30 pieces of silver to betray our cricketing future simply because this administration has got into such a financial mess?

It may be that my fears for Zimbabwe Cricket are entirely misplaced. If that is the case then the Zimbabwe Cricket Board have a duty to explain to the cricket loving public of Zimbabwe what their stance is and why that stance is in the long term best interests of Zimbabwe Cricket.

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