BETTER DAYS AHEAD

Tristan Holme
ON a gloomy March evening in 2018, Zimbabwe’s players sat in the dressing room at Harare Sports Club and wept.

Such a show of emotion was uncommon, even in a group that had been together for a long time, but sometimes there are events in life that break down our usual barriers and Zimbabwe’s defeat to the UAE in a rain-affected game was this kind of moment.

There were various factors that made the heartbreak of failing to qualify for the 2019 World Cup all the more acute.

Four and a half years later, it may be too early to say that Zimbabwe have risen above that station – even after victories over Ireland and Scotland saw them through to the second round of the T20 World Cup for the first time (an achievement a little less notable for the fact that the Super 10s have been expanded to Super 12s).

But it does offer a moment to reflect on their progress in a period where their absence from global tournaments allowed the rest of the world to forget them, and note the gains that have been made.

The seeds for a revival actually pre-dated that 2018 moment by almost three years.

It was August 2015 when Tavengwa Mukuhlani made an unexpected return to the Zimbabwe Cricket board as its chairman.

Coming after years of seedy backroom politics within the game, and with the organisation in debt to the tune of US $27million, his arrival was not met with optimism and questions around his intentions would linger for years to come.

But Mukuhlani had identified ZC’s biggest issue and was determined to resolve it.

All of these efforts came to fruition in the middle of 2020, when ZC became debt-free for the first time in well over a decade.

The impact this has had is evident all over the domestic system in Zimbabwe, and also in their performance in Australia.

The saving grace in this mess was that the ICC had been working closely with ZC for several years – so closely that ZC’s expenses were being signed off by an ICC representative.

And, the appointment of Dave Houghton, respected not only for his vast cricket knowledge but for being a man with respect and appreciation for others, suggests that the necessary cricket knowledge is being reintroduced to the system.

It was encouraging to hear Houghton speak highly of the domestic structures back home after seeing his side qualify for the Super 12s.

“We’ve got a base coming up nicely, and we’ve got a very good professional first-class system going at the moment. So there’s scope for us to become a much better and stronger side over the years,” he said.

It’s even more encouraging to note that the main takeaway from ZC’s AGM last month was a stated intention to extend the revival of franchise cricket into the club structures lower down.

“Where we are now, once we start climbing the ladder a little bit and playing against the big sides more regularly, I think you’ll find us sustaining our cricket abilities for a lot longer.”

This seems fair because for all the deficits in good administration and solid finances, cricket in Zimbabwe has never lacked support being felt.

“The fan base at home… I get back [after a match], and I spend two or three hours on my phone answering messages of congratulations, which we got after the Ireland game and we got again after the West Indies game even though we lost,” said Houghton.