Cricket South Africa (CSA) denied on Monday that it had offered to host the one-day international (ODI) series between Australia and Zimbabwe. Earlier, the Australian government announced that it would not permit the Australian cricket team to travel to Zimbabwe for the three-match series, scheduled for July.
Responding to reports that South Africa might offer to host the series, CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said CSA had not received an official approach to host the series. ”Zimbabwe are the host nation and they would need to decide what to do,” he said.
Both Zimbabwe and Australia would also then need to make an official approach to the country that they both agreed to play the series in South Africa. ”Should that country be South Africa, I as chief executive would need to take the application to the CSA board for consideration because this is a policy matter.”
Earlier, Majola’s predecessor as head of South African cricket, Dr Ali Bacher, said an Australian boycott would have little effect on Robert Mugabe’s government, although sporting boycotts had proved effective against apartheid South Africa.
”During the run-up to the Cricket World Cup in Southern Africa four years ago, there was a lot of pressure put on teams not to play in Zimbabwe,” said Bacher, who was chief executive of the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
”I consistently said at the time that no sporting body should be asked to make a political decision of that magnitude. It was up to governments to make that sort of decision, and the Australian government has now done so.”
Bacher, captain of the last South African cricket team before South Africa’s sporting isolation, said that what is being said about Zimbabwe now is what was said about South Africa in those days.
”There were two bodies of opinion then,” he said. ”There were those who said sport and politics should not be mixed, but there was also a considerable body of opinion, both in South Africa and internationally, that said sport and politics could not be separated.
”The latter opinion was the one that prevailed, and it proved to be very effective — it was the isolation of South Africa, including sporting isolation, that ultimately brought the country to its knees,” continued Bacher. ”However, speaking practically, the Australian government’s decision will have little impact on the government of Zimbabwe, because cricket is a very low-profile sport there.” — Sapa