By Hans Pienaar and Stephen Brenkley
In Dubai a delegation of Zimbabwe's cricket administrators on Monday withdrew from the T20 tournament, rather than force a vote on its membership in the divided International Cricket Council (ICC) - and risk losing a £5-million annual stipend.
The ICC is holding its annual meeting in the Gulf state city.
It emerged that nine words from Mandela did the trick in persuading India to change its stance against action against Zimbabwe.
At a dinner marking his 90th birthday in London last week, Mandela mentioned "the tragic failure of leadership in our neighbouring Zimbabwe".
"This statement was quoted during the board meeting by Norman Arendse, the chairperson of Cricket SA, and had a significant impact," said Giles Clarke, chairperson of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Continues Below ↓
"Nelson Mandela is a legendary figure and, as Mr Arendse said, a modern-day saint.
"His pronouncements carry weight."
When India caved in, the Zimbabweans settled for a compromise.
The delegation has to return to its own board for the withdrawal to be ratified.
As President Robert Mugabe has ties with the board, rescinding it remains possible.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: "The president of Zimbabwe cricket will be in that team and he was party to the recommendation, so I am reasonably confident that everybody will look at the big picture."
Meanwhile, the Drakensberg Boys' Choir announced on Monday it would postpone the Zimbabwean leg of its international tour.
The choir's board cited political uncertainty and mounting violence in Zimbabwe.
The choir is currently on a tour of the Netherlands and Austria, and was due to travel to Zimbabwe directly after the European performances.
"While the boys are extremely disappointed, our board is confident that it is the right decision.
"We can't take the risk that any of our choristers could be placed in any danger," said Drakensberg Boys' Choir School (DBSC) board chairperson Duke Louw.
The board said it was relying on "various government and corporate sources" in its monitoring of the situation in Zimbabwe.
The latest information from "all parties" indicated that it would be unwise of the board to sanction the tour, hence its postponement.
"We have apologised to the hosts of the tour who have gone out of their way to try to resolve the security concerns," said DBSC Rector Maurice Dicks.
"But until our board is completely satisfied with the boys' safety, our hands are tied.
"We only hope that there is a speedy resolution to the crisis in Zimbabwe so our boys can do what they do best - create harmony."
The choir's shows in the Netherlands have all been sold out.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of Pretoria News on July 08, 2008
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
