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Sports Correspondent
THE strike by senior cricket players continued yesterday with no solution in sight as Zimbabwe Cricket struggles to raise funds for the salary bill.There has been no action at match venues at the scheduled kick off times.
Mid West Rhinos were meant to play against Southern Rocks at Kwekwe Sports Club and at Mutare Sports Club, the Mountaineers were to face Mashonaland Eagles.
Some players spoken to yesterday maintained that they won’t change their stance until ZC comes good on their promise to pay them the owed salaries.
“We are not playing until these people pay us what is due” said one senior batter in the national team set up. We know the issues going on with the banks with regards the liquidity crises but we won’t take such excuses either. We will patiently wait for them to make a plan for our money” said another senior player in a telephone interview.
Mashonaland Eagles coach Steve Mangongo said the players were still on industrial action and had not received any communication by the time the match was supposed to have kicked off at the match venue, Mutare Sports Club.
“The boys still didn’t turn up for the four-day game as we speak. I received no communication from any of them as yet and the Mountaineers team also didn’t show up for the match” he said. Mangongo could not be drawn to any clarifications of the situation in his changing room.
The strike by players has affected two Pro50 matches so far that were meant to be staged during the past weekend-one game ending as a walkover and another played without many senior cricketers that included Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor, Vusi Sibanda, Malcolm Waller and Ed Rainsford.
Zimbabwe Cricket is believed to have asked the ICC for an additional loan of $3 million but sources say the ICC can only agree to that if ZC provides an audit of the funds they received from the Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme (Tapp) earlier this year.
The Tapp fund is valued to the tune of $1,5million and has been swallowed by development programmes. ZC has however declined that it ever went to the ICC for any assistance.
“We have not gone to the ICC to ask for money, as we said on the statement we are waiting for money from our funding partner who is not spared of the current liquidity crises that has hit the financial sector.
“There is not much we can do at the moment,” said Lovemore Banda, the ZC media and communications manager.
A statement released by the governing body said: “Our position therefore, which we have communicated to the players, is that we remain committed to paying their November salaries at the earliest possible time, and the rest of what is owed to them when our financial position improves.”
In August this year, the Zimbabwe cricketers had formed a union to participate in salary negotiations prior to the series against Pakistan.
The board’s financial condition also resulted in Sri Lanka’s tour to the country in October being deferred.
The Pro50s, scheduled to begin in November, were also delayed due to financial problems but the tournaments were finally held without sponsors.
Online Reporter