To the cash-strapped Zimbabwe cricket administrators, the current tour by the Indian team is expected to be a windfall.

"It is good we have the Indians here this winter. It will be better when they leave." The statement attributed to David Ellmann Brown, President of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) and Dave Houghton, former Test player and incharge of the National Academy, may or may not be true but it is doubtful if they would disagree with the sentiment.

The ZCU is expecting a windfall of 450 million Zimbabwean dollars (approx US $900,000) from the television revenue in this series. The cricket body has never had a bigger bite than this pie in their history. And they can only earn it after the Indians are through with their fixtures and have boarded the home-bound plane.

In a cricket set-up where there are no sponsors and only a few hundreds play the game, the revenue is most welcome and would keep the game going in the six provincial bodies and the Academy.

The ZCU is so short of funds it has not been able to run a domestic one-day competition between the provinces. Apparently, the cost of running two competitions and footing the accommodation and transport bill is overwhelming.

Yet, the game is growing every day as reflected in the overflowing cricketing engagements Zimbabwe is managing for itself. In the last season, Zimbabwe team left for Sharjah in mid-October, went to India, New Zealand, Australia and then played hosts to Bangladesh.

They played five Tests, winning two, losing one and drawing the remaining two. Of the 23 one-dayers, Zimbabwe won seven while losing 16 ties.

This winter, between May and September, they would play host to no less than four countries. After India and West Indies come and play two Tests each and a triangular one-day series with the hosts, South Africa and England are scheduled the fill the second half of the winter.

Zimbabwe have so far won five games from 50 Tests in nine seasons, two of them by an innings.

Their top players, contracted in three different categories by the ZCU according to their seniority and experience, earn around one million Zimbabwean dollars (approx $80,000) a year.

In a country where economy is declining by nearly 10 per cent and the government has stopped repayments of all foreign loans, including those owed to the IMF, it is not an insignificant sum.

Indeed, Zimbabwe is in need of serious help because Canada has imposed penalties, Denmark has cut back and European Union is considering sanctions.

The government reportedly owes more than US $4.5 billion to several multilateral institutions and Western countries. In the past four years about 1.4 million young people have left school with only about 100,000 finding some kind of work in the formal sector.

So high is inflation that the ZCU and its provinces have problems in maintaining facilities, keeping nets in condition or to employ staff and manage irrigation of grounds.

The players' condition though has improved after they forced their employers, the ZCU, in a corner in a pay dispute last year. The flash point to this simmering discontent was the incident involving its star player Andy Flower in a Asia Eleven vs Rest of the World match in Dhaka last year.

The Rest of the World side, led by Mark Waugh of Australia, named Flower as its 12th man. Flower, quite the best batsman in Zimbabwean cricket, was not unduly worried. "As far as I get my 5,000 US dollars, I am okay," he said.

It intrigued Waugh and on his asking, Flower explained the conditions of Zimbabwean cricket and its cricketers to the star Australian batsmen. "In that case, you shouldn't be playing for Zimbabwe," Waugh is quoted to have said.

It triggered a response among cricketers. The ZCU, worried at the loss of star players like Neil Johnson and Murray Goodwin on account of money, woke up in time to agree for improved conditions for cricketers.

Brown, the ZCU's president, is credited with ensuring enough engagements for the national team to keep the game going in the country. At its helm since August 1998, Brown's stroke of genius for Zimbabwean cricket has been his achievement to ensure reciprocal tours with other Test-playing nations.

It has taken the load of guarantee money, to be paid to visiting teams, off ZCU's shoulders. Australia, for instance, command a huge guarantee money because of their star status.

This is also the first time Zimbabwean cricket has opened itself to cricket in winter. There has never been any international cricket in this country between May and September. It will assist Zimbabwe in maintaining a viable financial organisation. The 10-year reciprocal touring calendar which the ICC has made for Test-playing nations is also most welcome for Zimbabwean cricket.

Brown says the new programme will mean they would get at least one "icon" tour each season. Thus, Zimbabwean cricket can look ahead for still better times in coming years.

© PTI