Zimbabwe forfeits IC Cup fixture in favour of Scotland
In an unprecedented move, Zimbabwe - the big brother amongst the minnows of cricket - has forfeited its Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland after the Europeans refused to tour the country owing to political differences and governmental directives.
The announcement came after Scottish authorities informed the Africans that they would not be in a position to tour and play the important fixture which was to have a bearing on the result of the tournament.
In a positive gesture, the Zimbabweans who have been besieged with internal and external problems that have hampered the growth of the game in the country decided to forfeit the game in the larger interest of the game.
In a press release, the authorities at Zimbabwe Cricket expressed the hope that their decision would be understood by the cricketing community and would help soften the image of the beleaguered African nation.
The following are the contents of the press release:
“Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has received much media interest on what the outcome will be following Scotland's decision not to tour Zimbabwe for the scheduled International Cricket Council (ICC) Intercontinental Cup fixture against Zimbabwe XI.
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 Members countries use this and other competitions to benchmark and track their progress, which progress 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 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Scotland-c756 or the ICC. Instead, we seek only a solution that will ultimately allow for 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.
Our decision has been communicated to the Events Technical Committee (ETC) of the ICC which will convene on Monday 27 September to further consider the matter in light of our submission.
While we await the ETC's final decision, we will not issue any further comment on this matter.”
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