Zimbabwe Cricket
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The Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) is the governing body for the sport of cricket in Zimbabwe. It is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and operates the Zimbabwean cricket team, organising Test tours and one-day internationals with other nations. It also organises domestic cricket in Zimbabwe. It changed its name from "Zimbabwe Cricket Union" (ZCU) in 2004.
Teams
Zimbabwean domestic first-class cricket involves the following teams:
History
ZC became a full member of the ICC on 6 July, 1992. Zimbabwe played its first Test match on 18 October-22 October the same year, against India at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. The match was drawn.
During the 2003 cricket World Cup, the political situation in Zimbabwe came to the fore on the cricket field. Two Zimbabwean players, Andy Flower and Henry Olonga, defied orders and wore black armbands during matches in protest against the "death of democracy in Zimbabwe" - a reference to their concern over the political actions of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Both players subsequently retired from cricket and emigrated from Zimbabwe.
On 2 April, 2004, ZC announced that Test captain Heath Streak had resigned the captaincy and retired from cricket. Over the following days it became clear that Streak had been dismissed. Fourteen fellow white players submitted a list of demands to the ZC including the reinstatement of Streak and a review of the team selection process with a view to eliminating political and racial bias imposed by the Mugabe government. The ZC ignored the demands and fielded a team of inexperienced youths in two Tests and three ODIs against the touring Sri Lankan side. The understrength Zimbabwe team was resoundingly defeated, resulting in calls from many players, ex-players, commentators, and fans for the ICC to strip the ZC of Test status until the internal crisis could be resolved.
The matter reached a climax when ICC Chief Executive Malcom Speed flew to Harare on 17 May to meet with ZC officials and discuss the crisis. The ZC refused to see him. Speed called an emergency meeting of the ICC Board to vote on the issue of Zimbabwe's suspension as a Test nation. On 21 May, with the vote just hours away, the ZC contacted Cricket Australia with an offer to cancel the two Test matches against Australia, due to begin the next day. Cricket Australia accepted the offer, thus averting the vote against the ZCU.
On 10 June, representatives of the ZC, Cricket Australia, the United Cricket Board of South Africa, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India met and agreed that all remaining Test matches involving Zimbabwe for 2004 would be cancelled.