OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Wednesday 4.30pm.
THE Zimbabwe Cricket Union has been rapped over disciplinary action against a black player during a series against Sri Lanka last month, but cleared of racism, an official said on Wednesday.
Charges of racial bias in the sport, which is dominated by white players here, were made in government media when promising batsman Trevor Madondo was axed from Zimbabwe’s squad for three out of five one-day internationals after arriving 30 minutes late for practice.
An inquiry into the incident by two High Court judges found that the action taken against Madondo was “not justified”, ZCU president Peter Chingoka said in a statement on Wednesday.
But the judges said “it is not possible to conclude with conviction that Trevor Madondo was treated as he was because of his race.”
The judges asked the ZCU to compensate Madondo by paying him the full amount he would have earned had he remained a member of the squad for the series.
“The ZCU board wishes to make it abundantly clear that it never has and never will tolerate any instances of racial prejudice,” Chingoka said.
In a similar incident England’s Graeme Swann was on Monday fined 250 for oversleeping on his team’s tour of South Africa. Having played just two first-class games so far, the Northamptonshire all-rounder overslept on the first day of the fifth test against South Africa at Centurion Park on Friday. — AFP
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