Keeper of Faith: Cricket, Conflict and God in Zimbabwe's Age of Extremes

by Tatenda Taibu

if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, you go together.

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If you have something to blame it on, the mistake tends to linger.

I think the ICC have to ask themselves if cricket really is that much better off as a sport than it was when money wasn’t the dominant factor. When the great West Indies side was the dominant force in cricket during the 80s, it wasn’t just because they had the most financial muscle. I think it helps sometimes to take a step away from it all and see what you are actually doing to grow the game, rather than just thinking about money, money, money. Sport is always evolving. If you start to build the game in more countries around the world and commit to helping these smaller nations, then the game will continue to grow, and the money will eventually follow as a result. My view is that the money follows the sport eventually. Sport should not follow the money. What has happened

How can a captain derive joy from knowing he is sorted out as an individual, but his team is not? What kind of captain and leader does that make him? A leader is meant to pull everyone through, not wander off on their own. I cannot understand how a captain would accept something that only benefits them and no one else. What sort of team are you going to end up with? It’s a cancer that needs cutting out, otherwise it will continue to be like that. The youngsters will come through the same system, and who will be the one to stop them doing the same thing?

We were fast approaching the qualifiers. I don’t care what people say, these issues affect players and their mindset while they’re out on the field. If you’re dealing with car park issues, carrying things on your shoulders while you are out there, you don’t have much chance in international cricket.

‘The sad thing is you sit here and talk about that when you’ve got no idea what it takes to produce a youngster who will go out there and perform at the highest level,’ I said. ‘You sent someone to come to England and assess my academy and what did they do? They spent one day assessing. What can you assess in one day? He had a look at where the boys were staying, where we were practising, the food they were eating, the gym they were using, the facilities, and then he went to London for the rest of the weekend before heading back to Zimbabwe. Surely, he does some assessment? When he came to see me, I said, “If you do not change and start to listen to people who know the game, we are going to go the way of Kenya. Unfortunately, when you realise it will be too late.” I’m not going to continue sitting here listening to this rubbish,’ I said, finishing my tirade.

First of all, I am Zimbabwean, and I would have loved to see my country compete. It would also have meant me continuing in my role with Zimbabwe Cricket and I would have tried to keep effecting change. I have always believed, especially in a country like Zimbabwe, that you have to make changes from within. It is impossible to effect any meaningful change from the fringes.

all my years in Zimbabwean cricket, little has changed. Andy Flower and Henry Olonga were the first to make a stand against authority in 2003, protesting against the death of democracy, and in 2004 Heath followed after a row over race and selection policy with the board. As a young boy in the nascent stages of his international career, I often wondered why there was so much conflict between the players and the hierarchy. I did not agree with Andy and Henry’s stand at the time because I did not believe sport and politics should mix. To me, they were two separate entities with different rules. As professionals, why couldn’t we just get on with playing sport? I soon found out why.