ALTHOUGH official confirmation had proved hard to come by, Cricinfo has learned that Robin Brown has been fired from his position as national coach by Zimbabwe Cricket. Brown's contract expires at the end of August and sources say he has been told that it won't be extended beyond that.
Andy Pycroft, the Zimbabwe A coach, has also been dismissed in a controversial shake-up which could leave Zimbabwe Cricket struggling to fill the voids.
It appears that the strong influence of the Takashinga, a club with strong links to both the Zimbabwe board and the ruling Zanu PF party, has played a major part in the decision. The faction never got along with Brown on a personality level, it its feared his sacking owed more to that than outright cricketing reasons.
It is rumoured that Steven Mangongo, a leading Takashinga official with few cricketing credentials, has been appointed as an interim replacement for Brown.
The group accused Brown of favouring certain white players, an accusation which has been refuted by some national team players. The Zimbabwe cricket team is dominantly black and the few white players who have remained are actually key players.
"Axes were always being sharpened for Brown barely days into the job," said an insider. "This is one of the indistinct circumstances a coach has been fired. There is a certain power-hungry group which controls Zimbabwe Cricket from outside the top brass. Unfortunately we have a meek administration so they are easily controlled by them."
Brown was unavailable for comment nor was anyone from the board. One former player said that Brown's departure raised issues over who would succeed him. "All the home-grown candidates have either been tried or turned their backs," he said. "Nobody with any credibility from overseas would touch the job, so you wonder who on earth they will turn to."
Steven Price is a freelance journalist based in Harare
Cricinfo
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READER OPINIONS
Roderick, Herts • na Subject: IF THE CAP FITS, THEN WEAR IT! Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:33:17 • just because robin brown's contract is not being renewed does not mean he was FIRED!.
it means his contract, which was exactly that, a contract, is not being renewed. sensationalism at its best. had his contract been terminated half way thru then he would have been fired.
the world complans about uMugabe being too old and then wants the cricket oans to keep on keeping on forever. a jet pilot/test pilot is past his sellby date after the age of 23-24.
If he was such an amazing coach instead of such an amazing personality i am sure his contract would be renewed.
there is no official confirmation and everyone is up in arms already.
why is it that anytime a white person is asked to step down and make way for a black person then politics raises its ugly head?
from what i have heard Zimbabwe Cricket is not up to standard anyway so he cant be that hot. anyway, i hate the game. much prefer ping pong.
Arthur Gwagwa • arthurgwagwa@yahoo.com Subject: This is blow to Cricket Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:18:57 • Events like these, coming at the back drop of national healing are not only a blow to Cricket but a shadow in the political mileage thus far achieved in Pretoria.
Politics and race issues must stay out of sport. Sport should be seen as a force of unifying a divided country, being one of the few forums in which all races and ethnicities interact.
I once worked with Andy Pycroft. He was always a man of towering intergrity as a lawyer. I trust that he has not been on the wrong side of the fence in what is happening in Zimbabwean cricket.
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