ICC demands ZC audited financial report

Cricket’s world governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), is understood to have asked Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) to provide an audited financial report for funds they received from the Targeted Assistance and Performance last year in order to get a fresh funding.The Financial Gazette Sport has learnt that ZC, which is in severe financial crisis, requires a US$3 million loan in order to resume first class cricket after it failed to secure sponsorship for the domestic league.
Efforts to get a comment from Peter Chingoka, the ZC chairman were fruitless as his mobile number went unanswered.

However, ZC Communications Manager, Lovemore Banda, declined to comment when contacted by this publication, saying he was going into a meeting.
He promised to call this reporter after the meeting. He had however not responded by the time of going to press.

The league could not resume as scheduled two weeks ago as the country’s players continued with their strike over non-payment of salaries.
The impasse between the cricketers and the board has gone for more than month after Zimbabwe players first downed tools in December last year.

That means the financial quandary would throw into disarray Zimbabwe’s preparations for its next international assignment, the World cup T20 competition set for Bangladesh in March this year.
With uncertainty hovering over the future of domestic cricket, it will take some time and hard work for the team to perform well at this tournament.

National players are understood not to have been paid for four months while franchise cricketers whose contracts only kicked off  at the beginning of the season had gone two months without salaries.
ZC could not provide guarantees of specific dates for payment but remained committed to paying November salaries at the earliest possible time.

Players have insisted they will not take to the field until they receive their salaries, which means there is no fixed date for the resumption of domestic league.
It is understood by this newspaper that ZC is in talks with a potential sponsor and if the deal materialises, they could have the funds to pay players and resume local competition.
It is understood they owe Metbank, a local financial institution, about US$15 million and are said to be in discussions to manage that debt.

Zimbabwe,  which cancelled the planned Sri Lanka trip and Afghanistan tour because of lack of funds, has not had any international cricket since Pakistan toured the country in September last year.
Afghanistan was due to visit Zimbabwe this month for a handful of ODIs and Twenty20s.
 newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw