In mid-March of this year, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union's Board of Control announced the launch of an aggressive campaign to improve and facilitate racial equity and integration within cricket at all levels. At that time, a 10 man Integration Task Force was formed and given the Board's mandate to "ensure the full, equitable, and sustainable nationwide integration of Zimbabwean cricket in the shortest possible time with the least possible reduction in individual and team performance".

Over the past two months the Integration Task Force has worked tirelessly in the formulation of a set of goals and strategies designed to serve as the foundation of what they described as "rapid evolution", i.e., a goal-oriented strategy intended to ensure that every major aspect of Zimbabwean cricket is, in fact, fully, equitably and sustainably integrated by no later than 1 January 2004.

The Integration Task Force presented its initial conclusions at a 6-hour workshop held for approximately 50 ZCU stakeholders on Friday, 18 May 2001. This was followed on the 19 May 2001 by a scheduled ZCU's Board of Control meeting during which unanimous support was expressed for the integration goals and strategies developed by the Task Force.

Most importantly, ZCU's Board fully accepted the Integration Task Force's conclusion that the "full, equitable and sustainable nationwide integration" of cricket in Zimbabwe will not be possible unless there are significantly changes to ZCU's current structures and operating procedures.

In keeping with that conclusion, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union has adopted a new mission statement that emphasises its commitment to managing cricket to the benefit of all Zimbabweans. Simply stated, ZCU's new mission statement commits the organisation and its resources to:

• 1. actively promoting and developing the playing and administration of the game of cricket for the benefit of all Zimbabweans without discrimination of any kind.
• 2. instilling and sustaining national pride in Zimbabwean cricket by being a successful performer in the sports and entertainment industry.

The Integration Task Force strongly emphasised that, for fulfilment, ZCU will be required to make a sizable commitment of resources in order to take cricket to all the people of Zimbabwe – and to bring the people of Zimbabwe to cricket. As a result, their recommendations focused on establishing and maintaining a highly effective "development pipeline", i.e., a process that ensures that:

• 1. as many young people as possible of all races - rural or urban, rich or poor - are attracted to and are enabled to play cricket in their formative years,
• 2. as many youngsters as possible, regardless of race or social standing, who demonstrate talent to become good players, umpires, scorers, etc. are identified and actively supported,
• 3. as many highly talented young men and women as possible emerge from the end of the development pipeline fully prepared to join their professional and amateur colleagues, and
• 4. there are amply rewarded opportunities for cricket enthusiasts to continue to be actively involved in the sport long after their prime – as administrators, committee members, and, importantly, as supporters.

ZCU's Board of Control has also recognised that the time has come for major changes in the organisation's structure and administrative procedures. For over 100 years, the success of cricket in this country has been the responsibility of a dedicated corps of individuals at the national, provincial, club and school levels who have performed admirably the majority of the required management and administrative tasks on a voluntary basis. Whilst such an approach may have worked well when Zimbabwean cricket was primarily an amateur sport, it has proven inadequate for the job of managing the professional and international profile that cricket has acquired. Therefore, a new structure, developed under the guidance of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Integration Task Force, has been agreed to that employs several full-time managers and administrators at the national and provincial levels.

The newly created posts will include that of a National Director of Development who will be responsible for ensuring that the "development pipeline" is functioning in an effective manner and is serving the needs of all Zimbabweans – both immediately and in the future.

ZCU has also taken concrete steps to ensure that the goals and strategies presented by the Integration Task Force are given the priority attention that they require and deserve. The Integration Task Force has been empowered to select the members of a panel that will be responsible for appointing the members of ZCU's Board of Directors for the coming term, which commences in August 2001. This five member panel has been given the task of identifying and selecting individual Board members who:

• clearly embrace the goals and values inherent in the full, equitable and sustainable nationwide integration of Zimbabwean cricket,
• have a proven track record of impartiality and positive race relations, and
• are seen as credible and of demonstrable good character

The selection panel is also responsible for ensuring that ZCU's new Board of Directors, as a whole:

• has the knowledge, skill and experience necessary to guide ZCU towards fulfilling the mission defined above,
• is perceived as credible by members of all races, and
• is committed to operating in line with the goals and values of this integration effort.

The panel responsible for selecting ZCU's new Board of Directors comprises:

• 1. Peter Chingoka, current ZCU President
• 2. Alwyn Pichanick, ZCU Life President
• 3. Justice Ahmed Ebrahim, Supreme Court Justice
• 4. Clive Barnes, Head Master, Prince Edward School and
• 5. Muchadeyi Masunda, Attorney, businessman and former Vice-Chairman of the Zimbabwe Sport and Recreation Commission

Within the next month, the Integration Task Force will be dissolved in favour of an "Integration Implementation Committee". This Committee will report directly to ZCU's Board of Directors and will be responsible for translating the goals and recommendations of the original Task Force into concrete plans and strategies and monitoring the implementation of those plans and strategies.

ZCU's President, Peter Chingoka, has expressed his sincere gratitude to the Integration Task Force for the phenomenal effort they have committed to this essential project. All the members of ZCU's Board of Control are convinced that the comprehensive blueprint, developed in record time by the Task Force, will serve as an excellent foundation for "ensuring the full, equitable, and sustainable nationwide integration of Zimbabwean cricket in the shortest possible time with the least possible reduction in individual and team performance".

P.F. CHINGOKA PRESIDENT ZIMBABWE CRICKET UNION 24 MAY 2001

© ZCU