Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter Chingoka recently revealed Zimbabwe was ready to return to Test Cricket after a four-year absence. In this interview, we ask Zimbabwe Cricket Managing Director Ozias Bvute about the country’s preparedness and the exact date when he expects Zimbabwe to return to the Test Cricket fold:
Q: Recent media reports indicate that Zimbabwe Cricket is committed to returning to Test cricket in 2011, has an exact date for your re-entry been set?
A: Crucial to us is that we set out a re-entry programme that is gradual and responsible and that will allow us to assess ourselves over a period of time. It will not happen overnight.
Q: What are the elements of the programme and are you looking to fulfill the set 2011 Future Tours Programme (FTP)?
A: It would be premature for us to jump straight into a normal playing schedule like all the other nations, instead we are working on a new calendar which will hopefully see us play Bangladesh, West Indies and then New Zealand over the next two years. We are yet to approach any of these boards with our request though we would like Bangladesh to play in a test match here in Zimbabwe soon after the 2011 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup ends in April next year.
Q: When do you then envision being able to take up your FTP commitments?
A: The gradual re-entry is intentional to allow our cricketers to build confidence and gain momentum. Supreme to all this is the integrity of the results such that they are reflective of competitive cricket matches.
Q; After you have played the countries you propose how do you see the future thereafter?
A: We will engage the rest of the cricketing world with the objective of playing once-off fixtures in Zimbabwe over a period. We recognise that in the short term, it may not be commercially viable for the other nations to have Zimbabwe touring but we will engage them with the prospect of allowing out national team to play their A sides in their countries. This will allow our team to familiarize themselves with other playing conditions and ultimately gain more experience.
Q: How long do you see this process taking?
A: As highlighted the process is gradual we are envisioning a five to six-year calendar, that takes us to a stage where we will have normal cricketing calendars like all the other nations.
Q: Have you been encouraged by the recent results?
A: We have certainly been encouraged but are also cognisant that they will be many more challenging days ahead and that the greatest hurdle we must overcome is for our team to be consistent. A lot more work needs to be done to ensure that the objective of playing consistent and competitive cricket is achieved. I am confident that the technical team we have around our boys in both the franchise and national team structures set us in the right direction.
Q: Do you envision your domestic structures playing a role in getting you ready for your re-entry?
A: It is hoped that our domestic cricket structure will serve as a valuable feeder system to our national team and to this end we have given a directive that our franchises engage coaches of a very high international standards such that they are imparting a significant level of skill to the players they are working with. We have also made it mandatory that each team has a set number of foreign players. From a fixtures perspective, we are in discussions that will see franchises from other countries touring Zimbabwe on a regular basis to play against our franchise and composite national team sides in multi-day cricket.