Let’s continue to improve our cricket

Bangladesh was a milestone development in the history of sport in this nation.
After a six-year absence, following a voluntary withdrawal from the Test arena as Zimbabwe Cricket authorities sought to rebuild a home shattered by in-house battles, it felt good to see our cricketers in the all-white of the Test arena again.

Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game and we have always prided ourselves in being a nation that competed favourably against the best in the world in this cultured sporting discipline.
But five years ago, we couldn’t compete, without plunging the good name of our country into disrepute through crushing defeats and, also, turning into a mockery in an exclusive club that is meant to represent the highest possible levels of the game.

The decision by a number of white players to rebel against the authorities paralysed the team and, as the battles turned both political and racial, the Zimbabwe Cricket authorities made the right decision to withdraw from the Test arena.
Away from the pressure that comes with assembling a team that can compete favourably with the best in the world, they took time to develop their game, spreading it across the country and boosting the players’ ranks.

Crucially, they also healed the wounds inflicted by that spat and they extended olive branches to those who had turned against them, resulting in the return of the majority of the white players back into the fold.
Now, as initial results have shown, we have a team that can not only play in the Test arena but can win matches in that exclusive club and the big victory over Bangladesh was worth every year that has been invested in the journey back to the big league.

Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute have really done very well for their country, taking a lot of stick along the way as the game was used as a tool by enemies of this nation in a number of political battles, but remaining committed to their vision.
Their argument, from the word go, was that cricket’s long-term future could not be guaranteed, as long as the game remained exclusively a sport for the minority in the population, and the key was to bring in big black people’s participation.

Now, we have just seen the explosive arrival of Brian Vitori, a 21-year-old seamer who took five wickets on his Test debut, five wickets in his first One-Day International and another five wickets yesterday.
In taking his ODI tally to 10 wickets, in his first two matches, Vitori made history as he became the first player to do that, eclipsing the old world record held by legendary South African paceman Alan

Donald who took eight wickets in his first two matches.
When you consider that Vitori was a virtual unknown before the spreading of the game, through the franchise system, gave him an opportunity to play, you can realise the wisdom that was in the ZC leadership when they decided to make the game truly national.

Now, if we can produce a player as good as Vitori, the obvious question is how many other good, if not better players, are out there and have been waiting for an opportunity to showcase their talents?

We believe there are scores of others and what is just needed is for ZC to remain committed to their development vision and keep spreading the game and unearthing fresh talent.
But today is a time of celebrations as we mark the return of our nation back to the big league and thank all those men and women who fought hard, in the trenches, to get us to where we are today.
That is why we hail the ZC leadership, which until now had been blamed for destroying the game, for their vision and salute them for remaining committed to their grand plan rather than being diverted by those who claimed they were pushing a political agenda.

That is also the reason why we salute men like Heath Streak, Alistair Campbell and Grant Flower, who refused to fall into the bat of our enemies who wanted to use the racial card to destroy our cricket, and return to help and work for their country.
Their efforts are being rewarded today.

Now that we are back, the challenge is not just to be content with being in the big league but to keep playing better and competing well against the established nations, which is why the next matches against Pakistan and New Zealand would be key.
We have to scale the heights of the ’90s when we were known as a very competitive nation, when it comes to cricket, rather than being content with just carrying the label of being that team that only beats Bangladesh.

We have made a good start, on our return, and the challenge is to keep improving the standards and that is why we are cheered by the fact that we have a game that can still find gems like Vitori who will be there for the long haul.

Cricket is key in this country because it gives us headlines around the world and, when we successfully host nations like we are doing now, we also send a good message to all those enemies who spread the gospel that we are a shattered nation.
When we win, as we did in the first Test, it gives a positive image of our nation around the globe and that is why it is important that we keep getting better and better.