High-risk tactic makes solution even harder to find - ICC

The rebel Zimbabwe players are taking a high-risk approach in their negotiations with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) that may spell the end of their careers in international cricket and risks tearing the fabric of any future Zimbabwe team apart the ICC said today.

ICC President Ehsan Mani also said that the rebels were ill-advised if they thought that walking out on the eve of a Test match would force other Test playing countries to interfere in Zimbabwean cricket.

"I am not going to pass comment on the rights or wrongs of what has happened in this case but what is clear is that by walking out on their teammates on the eve of a Test match, the rebels have placed Tatenda Taibu and his team in an invidious position," said Mr Mani.

"I am concerned that even if an agreement is now reached between the ZCU and the rebel players, this tactic of walking out on their teammates could irreparably split the dressing room, making a lasting solution even more difficult to find.

"At another level, if the rebels believe that walking out will result in other countries interfering in Zimbabwean cricket, I think that they have been very badly advised.

"The ICC has no mandate or authority from it members to unilaterally interfere in disputes between the people who govern the game in a particular country and the people who play cricket there.

"Malcolm Speed and his team have no authority to intervene in this dispute and are unlikely to be given any such authority by the other Test playing countries.

"Many of our members have faced similar issues and are very strongly of the view that the only way to find a solution is at the local level. Most recently New Zealand players went on strike while Australian players were on the cusp of strike action not so long ago. The ICC played no role in these disputes.

"The ZCU has already declined the ICC's offer to have Mr Speed become directly involved in this dispute and in the absence of a request from the ZCU to have the ICC directly intervene, the only way in which the ICC could act is if the other Test-playing countries took a decision to force Zimbabwe to accept the ICC's intervention.

"Given that many of our members have already had to face these issues, I cannot see that providing for the ICC to directly interfere is a course of action that they would support."

Mr Mani said that his disappointment in the player walk-out was magnified by it coming at a time when there was a prospect of progress being made.

"It is doubly disappointing for international cricket that this walk-out has taken place at a time when there appeared some prospect of progress.

"The ICC has had very direct and open discussion with the ZCU and emphasised the importance to international cricket of finding a solution to this dispute so that cricket in Zimbabwe can continue to be played at the highest level.

"The ICC has highlighted the international implications of this impasse to the ZCU and emphasised the ICC's responsibility to ensure that everything possible is done to protect the integrity of the sport.

"To the credit of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union it has put forward a number of concessions to try and break this impasse.

"We've seen the ZCU take the following steps:

"These concessions have been rejected out of hand by the rebel players which is disappointing.

"From an ICC perspective, we will continue to work with the ZCU to try and find a solution and to do everything possible to ensure that the game's integrity is not undermined."

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