Should the Blackcaps be Touring Zimbabwe?

As you know the Blackcaps are touring Zimbabwe. Not surprisingly, there have been the usual protests about the tour given that Robert Mugabe is still in power in Zimbabwe - just as there have been in the last 10 years since Mugabe began his controversial sweeping moves through this once prosperous African country.




I guess the real surprise has been how late the protests have started - just as the tour is about to conclude with the only test of this tour. Mark Reason's editorial in the Dominion Post has been the latest to protest the tour: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/5891155/Shame-on-NZ-Cricket-for-touring-Zimbabwe.

I am going to be one of those people who say that the Blackcaps have done the right thing to tour Zimbabwe - even if they didn't have their hands tied by the ICC.

Why?

1. Robert Mugabe may still be President but he is now in a coalition with Morgan Tsvangirai under the Unity government and has been since 2009 - so Mugabe doesn't quite have the influence he may have had before. Yes, Mugabe's controversial schemes are very much in motion sadly but they have been for the last 5 years when the ICC suspended their test status and teams weren't allowed to tour Zimbabwe. In fact the bans have probably strengthened Mugabe's reputation and fueled the propaganda that the West is out to get him. I'm not a Political Studies/History student so shan't comment on the details further but will just mention what I've observed.

However, I'm 100% confident that Ross Taylor is not endorsing Robert Mugabe by coming to Zimbabwe.

2. Zimbabwe is one of the most impoverished nations in the world. Surely, backing out of further tours would be bad for the people - financially and emotionally. By having international cricket teams come to Zimbabwe, surely that would give a boost to the people to watch their own side take on the best in the world especially when their own side is actually reasonably competitive - a decent lower tier cricket nation at most.

Furthermore, this Zimbabwe team does feature several white players, including the captain, Brendan Taylor himself, Ray Price and Shane Bond-lookalike, Kyle Jarvis. The White Zimbabweans, few as they may be now due to mass migration to Australia, South Africa, England and New Zealand due to Mugabe's regime, may be slowly inching their way back into the national team.

FYI Zimbabwe's economy may have tanked in the middle of the last decade - the hyperinflation of the nation's currency probably was the crux of Zimbabwe's rapid decline - but is starting to show signs of growth - with rising GDP growth courtesy of the country's well-known abundance in natural resources. Yes many are still poor but Zimbabwe is slowly emerging from the basket and international cricket in Zimbabwe will only help lift Zimbabweans who have seen their nation become a pariah in the eyes of the world.

So perhaps it is time for journalists to update their information and change their stance on Zimbabwe? Furthermore, there's always been that age-old cliche: sport and politics don't mix. Zimbabweans needs the world to see that they're coming back and need a hand with it too.