Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THE Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) touched off a racism storm yesterday, after it accused former Sports minister David Coltart of allegedly targeting the cricket board’s “black administrators with baseless accusations lacking any credible evidence”.
Coltart has been critical of ZC after a poor performance by the Chevrons in the red-ball cricket.
The team’s recent two-match Test series against New Zealand concluded on Saturday with a historic low — a 2-0 whitewash capped by an innings and 359-run defeat at Queens Sports Club.
The loss was Zimbabwe’s worst-ever in Test cricket, with their batsmen failing to score even 200 runs in any of their four innings.
Writing on X, Coltart said: As a Zimbabwean patriot, I am finding the current state of Zimbabwe cricket deeply distressing. To see our national team being decimated by New Zealand stirs deep emotions within me. Our players are utterly disheartened. We are so much better than this. We need a complete rethink.”
But ZC hit back, saying Coltart had “crossed the line”. It said his social media “tirades, masquerading as concern for cricket,” were a “thinly-veiled attempt to sow divisions and undermine the progress ZC has made”.
“While selection is inherently subjective and globally sparks healthy debate among cricket fans, that is normal and part of the game. However, Coltart’s persistent claims of non-existent racist policies are both dangerous and deplorable,” ZC said.
It claimed such accusations distract the association from developing Zimbabwean cricket and erode public trust in a fair, transparent system.
“Without proof, his accusations amount to bar talk – empty noise unworthy of serious consideration, but too dangerous to ignore, given his political standing and influence,” ZC said.
“The facts speak for themselves. Since independence, ZC has made remarkable strides in transforming the sport, making national teams more representative of the country’s demographics. We’ve complied fully with the ICC Anti-Discrimination Code, ensuring fairness and transparency in our operations.”
The cricket board accused Coltart of allegedly politicising cricket when he was Education and Sport minister.
“His past actions, including supporting an unjust system, contradict his current posturing as a champion of Zimbabwe cricket. Notably, his role in the infamous black-armband protest during the 2003 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup had far-reaching consequences,” ZC said.
“England’s subsequent refusal to travel to Harare for their World Cup match sparked a 23-year freeze in bilateral cricket relations between the two countries – a rift that only ended in May 2024 when ZC successfully negotiated a historic one-off Test at Trent Bridge.”
ZC’s statement did not go unchallenged, with critics accusing the association of failing to respond to concerns raised by Coltart.
Writing on X, @gillmbaku_zw said: “Nothing to address the current state of cricket, busy playing the race card again. We are going nowhere. The cricketing community is concerned about the maladministration of the sport and conflict of interest within the ZC structures. Can they respond to that?”
Another user, @joshkenzie, said: “The fact that this organisation thinks mayor @DavidColtart has time to smear campaign when the trajectory speaks for itself is a serious confirmation of the gravity of the rot. So are they going to call all fans people with a smear campaign [agenda]? No accountability!”
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