Zimbabwe’s opening game against Namibia wasn’t a particularly memorable match in cricketing terms. Craig Wishart scored a superb 170*, but that was about it. But for Zimbabwe cricket and particularly Henry Olonga and Andy Flower, it will be a day they will remember for quite a while.
Flower and Olonga strode onto the field wearing black armbands. They also issued a statement saying they wore the armbands to ‘mourn the death of democracy” in Zimbabwe.
On Monday, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) referred the players to a disciplinary committee. But on Wednesday the ZCU decided their action falls under the jurisdiction of the ICC and that Malcolm Speed and his team should handle it.
”This is because their action took place within an ICC tournament, the World Cup,” ZCU chief executive Vincent Hogg said.
Only Olonga’s club, Takashinga, have taken action and have suspended him indefinitely.
Givemore Makoni, Takashinga club chairman, condemned the two cricketers for bringing politics into cricket.
‘Taking politics onto the playing field is something that the ICC and other sporting bodies, including the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, have been avoiding,†he said.
‘Their actions are wrong.â€
By now, the ICC probably curse the day they ever heard the name of Robert Mugabe. The England boycott of the Zimbabwe game wasn’t easy to handle. Neither will Olonga and Flower’s protest.
The Zimbabwean issue lies at the heart of cricket and sport: should the two be mixed?
Flower and Olonga, as sport ambassadors for their country, felt that they should make a firm statement about the political situation. The two said they hoped their actions would help to restore sanity and dignity to Zimbabwe.
Olonga and Flower said the murders, rapes, burning of homes, abductions, starvation and lack of press freedom were unacceptable and that they could not keep quiet any longer.
‘We are making a plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. If we do not speak out it will be taken as a sign that we do not care or we condone what is happening,” the two cricketers said.
Olonga said in a radio interview. ‘Obviously we had to weigh up the possible consequences not only to ourselves, but to the Cricket World Cup and to cricket in Zimbabwe,” he said.
”We will have to deal with whatever repercussions come along our way in the best way that we can, but we believe in the greater good.”
The Zimbabwe government’s silence on the whole incident indicates that it is also unsure about what to make of the cricketers. The state owned Herald said only that spectators didn’t react to calls to wear armbands. Instead they commented how black and white spectators embraced each other in the stands.
Olonga has played a significant role in the rise of Zimbabwe cricket. Olonga was the first black player to play for the Zimbabwe cricket team.
Flower is one of the best batsmen in the game today. Since the left-hander passed his wicket-keeping gloves to Tatenda Taibu, he has been playing as a specialist batsman.
Olonga and Flower’s frankness may have come at an expensive price. The feeling in the cricketing world is that their protest action will be the end of their international careers.
In any case, it’s expected that Flower will retire. He has been playing county cricket in England for a while now and will probably continue to do so till the end of his career.
More cricket in our Cricket World Cup special report