Heath Speak

Greetings from Zimbabwe

The last few weeks have been fairly stressful times for me, but at last I am starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel and I am starting to feel very positive about the upcoming Cricket World Cup.

I guess we might as well start off with it straight away and address the whole issue of Zimbabwe hosting games during the Cricket World Cup.

I have said all along and I will say it again, I am a cricket player and cricket is my business. I would never ask a politician for advice on setting a field and if I did I am sure he would be very stressed out by it and would probably end up making a mistake - that’s why I prefer not to get involved in the political debate that is raging in and about my country.

Yet despite my stance, it continues to astound me that I am constantly asked to make political comments and judgments when I am nothing more than a cricketer. Because of my unwillingness to get involved in matters off the field I have castigated by a lot of people here in Zimbabwe and when I have ventured a comment a lot of what I have said has been taken out of context - it is very frustrating!

People say that we are insensitive, but that is nonsense. As cricket players we have a job to do and that job is to play cricket. The situation in Zimbabwe is a complex one and it is not our responsibility as cricketers to find a solution.

It is also a political issue rather than a security one. From a security point of view the ICC have been very thorough. They have sent a high-powered delegation to Zimbabwe and the situation is constantly being monitored by the embassies of the countries that are due to play here - they all say that Zimbabwe is safe to tour.

I must say though that while politically it is difficult to offer comment on the situation I can confirm that the country is safe. I live here and so do my family. The World Cup team is based at a camp in Harare and I have also spent time in Bulawayo recently. I have always felt safe traveling between the cities and having spent some time in South Africa during the Festive Season it is quite obvious that from a security point of view there is as much chance of encountering mischief in Johannesburg or Cape Town as there is of falling foul of criminals in one of our Zimbabwean cities.

But like I said at the start of the column, things have definitely taken a turn for the better this week and hopefully we can now put all the debating behind us. As players we were very pleased when England announced that they would not forfeit their game against us.

We qualified for the Super Sixes at the last World Cup and we are intent on doing so again this year. And in qualifying for the second stage of the tournament we want to do it on merit, not because we have been gifted games.

We have a good squad and the guys are really working hard at the camp in Harare. There is a positive vibe amongst the guys who are in the squad and we have tried not to let the whole political brouhaha spill over into our focus. At the start of the camp we stressed that regardless of where games were hosted, they would still be played. So we knew that we had some serious cricket on our hands and we have focused on being ready for that, rather than worrying about who would be coming or where we would be playing.

On a personal note I have started to play again and am feeling strong following surgery on my injured shoulder. Having been relatively injury free throughout my career it has been very frustrating sitting on the sidelines for so long.

I hurt my shoulder in an accident in Sri Lanka while we were there for the ICC Champions Trophy. The little Bajaj taxi I was driving in didn’t come with airbags or seat belts and as a result I only made my return to the middle in a club game on Saturday.

So far my return has been low key. I made 75 runs on Saturday and then sent down a few overs before the rain came, while in First Class action on Wednesday my team, Matabeleland beat Midlands by nine wickets. Although I didn’t claim a wicket I nevertheless sent down my ten overs without feeling the after-effects of the surgery and it was a good start from which to build.

I look forward to communicating with you again in the future as we make our way to the World Cup and thereafter on to England. From a Zimbabwean perspective it has been a difficult couple of weeks but lets hope that both the best interests of cricket and Zimbabwe are served as we navigate our way towards the world’s greatest tournament!

Cheers
Heath