Cricket: Zimbabwe beatings no good for game

Rest of the World coach John Wright has added his voice to the concern being expressed over the international status of Zimbabwe.

The man charged with guiding the World XI in their test and one-day series against Australia in October has called on the International Cricket Council to review their procedures after another inept performance from the Zimbabwe team.

The hosts were annihilated in the opening one-dayer of the tri-series, conceding the second-highest innings total in the history of the game as New Zealand romped to a 192-run win.

The towelling followed similar results in the two-match test series, New Zealand winning the first inside two days and the next within three.

Wright, who last season stepped down as coach of India after a five-year tour of duty, said he was sympathetic to the plight of Zimbabwe cricket, but still believed the ICC needed to have a way of reassessing underperformers.

"I'm not as much interested in the results as the strength of the game's infrastructure in Zimbabwe," he said yesterday.

"The crux of the matter is whether Zimbabwe have the development programmes and the resources to sustain their international presence."

Wright said while Zimbabwe were "very competitive" six or seven years ago, their game had slipped markedly since then, leaving important questions hanging over their ability to climb out of the crisis.

The former New Zealand captain said it served no purpose, least of all to the integrity of the game, for a team to be losing so badly so consistently, and with no apparent light at the end of the tunnel.

"I don't think it's any good for any cricket team to be beaten so badly and so often as Zimbabwe have been, lately; the confidence of the individuals has to be affected, and there comes a time where it almost becomes cruel.

"Having said that, the results are just the tip of the iceberg. The real issues involve Zimbabwe's capacity to improve and progress as a cricket nation, and maybe that's where the ICC should be playing a role.

"It can't be just allowed to carry on regardless, because failure will breed failure - it won't help with development."

Wright said the situation was notably different with Bangladesh, even though the fledgling nation was finding it difficult to compete on the international circuit, and had a record worse than Zimbabwe's.

"Bangladesh have the population base, a passion for the game, a decent budget and plenty of support from India, so they should be okay in the long term. It's hard to see them not making progress.

"But if that's not the case in Zimbabwe, then the ICC need to have the tools and the commitment to review the situation."

As for the Super Series, Wright said he was flattered to be appointed coach and was looking forward to another opportunity to lock horns with Australia, his arch-rivals while in charge of India.

Under his guidance, India beat Steve Waugh's team 2-1 at home in the famous 2000-01 series and followed up by holding them to a 1-1 drawn series in Australia in 2003-04. His test record as India coach against Australia includes four wins, four losses and three drawn matches.

He said the history of the World concept, and the fact that he would be working with the best players in the world, meant the job carried a burden of responsibility.

"It's very important that the cricket is good. It's even more important that we win."