No politics in Zim test offer, say CSA

TELFORD VICE

Cricket SA (CSA) have denied that an offer they made to Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) for their respective teams to play a test before next month’s Australian tour to SA was an attempt to buy their neighbours’ support in the imminent battle over a proposal to restructure the international game.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) board will meet in Dubai from Monday to Wednesday to decide whether to implement new structures that would entrench the power of their Indian, English and Australian members and ensure that those countries keep much of the profit cricket generates from selling broadcast rights.

CSA voiced their opposition to the proposal on Monday, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India said yesterday that they had “authorised the (BCCI) office bearers to enter into agreements with the ICC for participating in the ICC events and hosting ICC events, subject to the proposal being approved by the ICC board”.

In short, either the new deal is accepted or cricket can look forward to organising and hosting tournaments like the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the World T20 without the involvement of India - who are responsible for raising around 70% of the game’s revenue.

What difference would the opinion of a blade of grass like Zimbabwe make when elephants are fighting above them? CSA ducked under that bouncer before it was bowled yesterday.

“The request to play Zimbabwe is purely for cricket reasons,” CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat told ESPNCricinfo. “Our team are notoriously slow starters and the request was made long before the ICC revamp proposal came.”

Regardless of the semantics, CSA are unlikely to have their request granted. Zimbabwe’s players, who are rarely on good terms with their administrators, have been on strike since December because they were last paid their salaries at the end of October.

Zimbabwe would be ill-prepared for any such match, which would have to take place before SA’s first test against Australia on February 12. Brendan Taylor’s men were last in action in the first half of September, and domestic cricket has been suspended since December 15 because of the player strike.

In fact, as the match would be unlikely to pump any money into ZC’s empty coffers, CSA’s offer could be that rare thing - an issue on which Zimbabwe’s suits and players are in agreement.

ZC have yet to respond definitively to CSA’s offer.