Was It About the Leader Or The Ideology?

Was It About the Leader Or The Ideology?

Perkins Bare

While the nation went cuckohoops at the epic resignation of Paul Chingoka after a ludicrously memorable 22 years in charge practicing a philosophy which proved disastrous is there really much to celebrate for surely he had planted his ideology deep within the roots of ZC which might still continue to rule if it is not changed.

A leader can be simply described as an individual who leads an organization under certain principles and a set of ideas which then become his ideology which will forever remain as part of his legacy which then just shows that even after the leader has well gone the rule and the conditions can remain the same.

`The king is dead, but the monarchy lives` was what headlined ESPNCricinfo and though this resignation is a starting point in the #BringBackOurCricket campaign there is a great likelihood of people relaxing only to realize later that it was all just folks.

The greatest danger which now haunts ZC and the rest of the cricket fraternity is that of backtracking and failing to utilize such a golden opportunity to literally save our cricket.

What people have to understand fully is that Paul Chingoka`s resignation alone is not enough to bring back the glory days but what is vital is a total transformation of the policies which led ZC meaning that contrary to Chingoka`s sentiments of being an advisor, I do not foresee any progress for ZC if they are going to get advice from a person who, though well respected in the cricket world and is one of the most experienced personnel in the game, is still regarded as a total failure.

Though ZC ensured that the ship stabilizes after such a shake by their appointments (though I do not know what a lawyer is doing there) this is a time when most heads should be rolling at ZC for surely most of them were part of the system and they still have faith in a system that defies sporting ethics of equality.

This is a time when the phrase back to basics is imperative for the rebuilding phase which had started 10 years ago was all gibberish and we now have to start the process for it never existed and has ended with the resignation of the president and this just shows that the ship was indeed headed for the ice though such a situation is not even suitable to start another rebuilding process for we will never be able to cheat ourselves to success. It is time that we open the dictionary and relook the meaning of the word rebuilding for it has been used willy-nilly.

Primarily it is vital that we all swallow our huge ego`s for if Chingoka, who we had all been blaming for the death of our game can do it we also have to do it for this is a crucial time for our game and most people are indeed from the corporates to those who just took part in the #BringBackOurCricket campaign for it is no longer a case of chasing for personal glory but to save our game.

Another thing to utilize is to strengthen the current junior policy and the player development programme (I completely hate the way some of these terms are misused), with Takashinga and the Heath Streak Cricket Academy as the main pillars of strength to the others like HSC, Alexandra and Ruwa and also the primary schools to the biggest culprits the universities who think they are too smart to be involved in sport.

Also another thing to make use of is that golden generation which produced that fine crop of players who can indeed offer advice. Now also the senior players who are well respected in the game and all those who had abandoned the ship have to put aside their differences for this a time when that could make us all enjoy what we have always wanted, to see the return of the glory days.

Now as for the black armband protesters and the rebels (these guys must come on board) for if they really wanted to see a change in the ideology which governed ZC this is a time where they have to step up and justify their actions we and also the golden generation which I grew up watching playing the game with so much pride, would never go down without a fight and was the best fielding team in the world and a host of other badges.

As for the financial woes which have been well documented I still condemn the turning down of the ICC bailout package (though it is now just water under the bridge) all the same ZC did quite well by cutting down the expenses though it greatly affected its marketing and as for the tours which have failed to materialize it is now a time to just let bygones be bygones for our game has suffered enough.

Though such a huge setback can completely shatter the hope in the process it is now time that #BringBackOurCricket kicks in and truly build a team from the way up for the players are as equally to blame for the mess that we ourselves in as the attitude depicted by the players themselves who now lack the pride of wearing that red jersey and others opting to chase greener pastures which is somewhat disturbing for it is a simple show of arrogance.

One also has to put in into cognizance the fact that no one would ever want to lead a sinking ship and all that Chingoka did was meant for our good and though it was a noble idea to spread the game by integrating black players into the game his plan went horribly wrong.

Fellow Zimbabweans let us build our team based on credit and not color and start a junior policy and put aside our differences destiny is indeed in our hands and this battle is now for us to lose and we can no longer point fingures but if this battle is lost then we are to blame for sitting on our talents and requisite knowledge and it will be hard to forgive especially the golden generation which made most of us fall in love with the game and the generation after that which kept the hope alive in most of us.