Zimbabwe cricket is a house on fire

EFFORTS to smooth over the latest impasse, which saw players dump tools and refuse to train a fortnight ago, have resulted in the organisation being accused of using divide and rule tactics to cover up the mayhem.

For their part, Zimbabwe Cricket has chosen to bury their heads in the sand and refute any claims of friction.

“There was never any impasse,” said communications and Media Manager Darlington Majonga.

“The players asked for an update on new contracts, outstanding match fees and a few other concerns and all those issues were dealt with at a meeting addressed by chairman Mr Tavengwa Mukuhlani and managing director Mr Wilfred Mukondiwa.”

However, investigations by The Sunday Mail reveal that the only thing concrete to come out of that meeting were central contracts to 16 players.

The fate of the rest, remains unknown.

The 16 include seasoned campaigners like skipper Graeme Cremer, Hamilton Masakadza, Sikander Raza Butt, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Tendai Chatara, Tinashe Panyangara, Craig Ervine and Elton Chigumbura.

The l i kes of Wel l i ngton Masakadza, Neville Madziva, Prince Masvaure, Donald Tiripano,

Moor and Richmond Mutumbami are also believed to have been given offers.

While refusing to name any players, Majonga did confirm the development.

“Yes, a total of 16 players have been offered central contracts, while five more players from the emerging squad are also being considered,” he said.

As far as the contracts themselves are concerned; there appears to be ill feelings in a cross- section of the local players, with many feeling hard done by the latest development.

Among their bone of contention are issues to deal with grade cuts, very little being said about the domestic league and ZC refusing to address the issue of outstanding fees which for some dates back to June 2015.

“It is really sad that even the basic things like water, fruits and nets are not consistently provided us, and I won’t even mention allowances,” said one player who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Let me give you an example; the Africa Cup T20 side went to the first round of their fixtures with nothing, only to be given some money by a parent of one of the players.

“We also had guys struggling to get fuel money and bus fare, when the Emerging side played Sri Lanka.

“They got nothing out of it, yet some of these guys had flown from England where they were playing club cricket.

“These are some of the issues we want addressed, on top of the contract and outstanding fees issues,” he said.

Another player questioned the rationale behind giving only 16 players contracts

” What will happen to the rest of the locals, if only 16 players have been given contracts?

“We don’t only have 16 guys playing cricket in this country.

“Zimbabwe Cricket is neglecting its players and cannot continue to ignore the domestic league like they are doing,” he said.

“It appears the match- fees issue has been forgotten, if not ignored.

“It’s really sad that players have to suffer like this, instead of worrying over performances, you have a lot on your mind,” quipped another.

“What criteria was used in giving these guys contracts... is it stats or something else?

“There are some names who have done pretty well but have been overlooked.

“Maybe there will be offered the High Performance Contracts, but then again we are not sure if those contracts will be available this season,” added his compatriot.