ICC suspends Zimbabwe Cricket over ‘political interference’

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LONDON, July 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – International cricket chiefs on Thursday
suspended Zimbabwe over a failure to keep the sport free from government
interference, throwing into doubt their participation in qualifiers for the
T20 World Cup.

The decision means International Cricket Council funding to Zimbabwe
Cricket will be frozen and representative teams from the country will not be
allowed to participate in any ICC events.

The punishment comes after the Zimbabwe Cricket Board was suspended by the
government last month and replaced with an interim committee.

“The ICC has directed that the elected Zimbabwe Cricket Board be reinstated
to office within three months, and progress in this respect will be
considered again at the October board meeting,” the ICC said in a statement.

“The ICC board heard from both the sports and recreation committee
representatives of the Zimbabwe government and Zimbabwe Cricket before making
their decision.”

ICC chairman Shashank Manohar said: “We do not take the decision to suspend
a member lightly but we must keep our sport free from political interference.

“What has happened in Zimbabwe is a serious breach of the ICC constitution
and we cannot allow it to continue unchecked.

“The ICC wants cricket to continue in Zimbabwe in accordance with the ICC
constitution.”

Zimbabwe were due to compete in the men’s World T20 qualifiers in October
and November and the women’s qualifiers starting in late August but their
participation is now unclear.

Political turmoil within the sport and a string of humiliating performances
led Zimbabwe to suspend their involvement in Test cricket in 2005 although
they continued to play one-day internationals and Twenty20 (T20)
internationals at the highest level.

They returned to Test cricket in 2011 but are languishing in 10th place in
the rankings.

They are 12th in the one-day international rankings and did not take part
in the just-concluded World Cup in England and Wales.

The Croatia Cricket Federation and the Zambia Cricket Union have both also
been suspended for continuing non-compliance with ICC membership criteria
while the Moroccan Royal Cricket Federation has been expelled over continuing
non-compliance.

At the same meeting in London, the ICC also approved the introduction of
concussion replacements, effective from the first Ashes Test starting on
August 1, following successful trials in domestic cricket.

The player will need to be a like-for-like substitute, and any switch will
need to be approved by the match referee.

And the ICC agreed that captains would no longer be suspended for repeated
or serious over-rate breaches.

All players will be held equally responsible for slow over rates, and as
such will be fined at the same level as the captain.

In World Test Championship matches a team that is behind the required over
rate at the end of a match will have points deducted.