ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

ZIMBABWE XI v SCOTLAND When the ICC invited Zimbabwe to participate in the 2009-10 Intercontinental Cup, it was expected that home matches against countries, whose governments had a policy of not sending sports teams to Zimbabwe, would be played at neutral venues, mostly likely in South Africa. In July 2010, following a review of the security situation in the country, the ICC changed its decision at the request of Zimbabwe Cricket and relocated the matches to Zimbabwe. Cricket Scotland reluctantly agreed to this change, having sought advice from the United Kingdom Government. By September, however, UK Government policy had been revised. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office expressed the view that “ there has not yet been sufficient progress in Zimbabwe on the fundamental issues of political reform and of the re-establishment of the rule of law to justify sports tours by British teams ”. However, as in previous statements by the UK Government, no ban was enforced on such contacts and the decision on whether to fulfil them was left to the relevant sporting authorities. Even though the Scottish Government supported the view of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stating that “ we strongly advise Scottish sports teams against visiting Zimbabwe ”, the situation still left the possibility that the ICC could take disciplinary measures against Scottish Cricket should they not undertake the fixture. These could have ranged from a fine, to preventing Scotland from taking part in future competitions. After careful consideration, the Boad of Cricket Scotland decided to accept the advice of the UK and Scottish Governments and not travel to Zimbabwe. The expectation was that Scotland would forfeit the fixture and that the Zimbabwe XI would be awarded the maximum points and proceed to the final of the competition. It was somewhat of a surprise therefore when, on the 24th September, Zimbabwe Cricket issued the following statement: “ Having considered the position, we have decided to forfeit the match in favour of Scotland. If it meets with the approval of the ICC, it is our recommendation that Scotland be awarded the full points for this fixture, a move that will allow for them to proceed to the final. The Associate Member countries use this and other competitions to benchmark and track their progress, which is important to them. To this end we feel that the I-Cup is a significant competition in Scotland’s development and therefore important that it gets the full benefits associated with playing in it. Moreover, given the limited playing opportunities available to them, it would be unnecessarily counterproductive to rob them of their right to participation or reduce their chances of reaching the final. We accepted the invitation by the ICC to participate in this tournament and at no time did we advocate that the game be played in Zimbabwe, instead the venue of the fixture was decided by the ICC. In coming to this situation, the ICC no doubt took into full consideration the safety and security of the players – a condition which Zimbabwe fully meets with as a sporting nation. Having therefore met with these conditions, it is out of the question to consider playing our home matches anywhere else than in our own country. While Scotland’s decision not to tour has been attributed to political considerations, we as Zimbabwe Cricket are not qualified to comment on matters political of any country, nor would we want to base the future of the game of cricket on political directives. As such Zimbabwe has no dispute with either Cricket Scotland or the ICC. Instead, we seek only a solution that will ultimately allow fair participation by all. Our development team has nevertheless immensely enjoyed participating in this tournament and will no doubt cherish the life-long relationships that have been forged as a result. It is our strong belief that this is one of the many reasons nations play sport other than the sheer thrill of competition. It is our hope that our decision and ultimately that of the ICC, will allow for cricket to be the ultimate winner. 216 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10