The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has backed Australia’s decision to call off its tour of Zimbabwe and said the struggling African nation should be ”permanently suspended” from international cricket because of its poor playing standards.
The Australia government has banned the country’s cricket team from travelling to Zimbabwe in September as scheduled in protest at the policies of President Robert Mugabe.
MCC’s world cricket committee, chaired by Tony Lewis — one of six former England captains on a 15-man panel also featuring former Zimbabwe international Andy Flower and Australia great Steve Waugh, as well as current India skipper Rahul Dravid — said the decline in playing standards was directly linked to the Mugabe regime and was unlikely to improve while he remained in power.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, it said: ”The MCC world cricket committee, which met for the third time on Monday, believes the standard of cricket played by Zimbabwe, a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has deteriorated to such an extent that its Test and one-day international playing status should be permanently suspended until such time as the cricket infrastructure is rebuilt.
”While it is not for the MCC world cricket committee to make judgements on the politics of any particular country, the committee believes the decline in the standard of cricket in Zimbabwe is directly related to the political situation there, and that an improvement is unlikely while the current regime is in place.
”The committee, therefore, welcomes the decision of the Australian government in preventing its cricket team from touring Zimbabwe later this year. Once the social unrest has been addressed, ICC should, by means of regular review and guidance, assist the Zimbabwe Cricket Union in rebuilding as a serious cricketing nation.”
Although MCC, the owner of London’s Lord’s Cricket Ground, no longer has a role in running either English or world cricket, it remains responsible for the sport’s laws.
Flower, now England’s assistant coach, quit international cricket after the 2003 World Cup where he staged a protest with black teammate Henry Olonga mourning the ”death of democracy” in Zimbabwe.
Earlier on Tuesday, Australian cricket officials said plans to stage matches at a neutral venue had been scrapped after being rejected by Zimbabwe Cricket chief executive Ozias Bvute.
”We can now say definitely that the series will not be happening inside or outside Zimbabwe,” said a Cricket Australia spokesperson. — Sapa-AFP