Cricket-Zimbabwe go back to work after boycott over pay averted

Zimbabwe will begin training on Saturday ahead of next week’s visit by Pakistan after calling off a planned boycott of the tour over outstanding pay and earnings guarantees, captain Brendan Taylor said on Saturday.

“We had a good meeting with Zimbabwe Cricket today, the financial payments have started moving and our main focus now is to be ready for the start of the Pakistan tour,” he said.

“We have agreed to go back to training and are happy that our grievances have been heard. The response from Zimbabwe Cricket has been quite encouraging and it is now for them to make good on their word.”

A newly-formed players union, led by Taylor and four other senior players – Elton Chigumbura, Prosper Utseya, Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda – met Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) to list their grievances over unpaid salaries and future match fees.

The players have not trained since the official start of their pre-tour camp on Tuesday after complaining that money owed to them from the recent visit of India had not been paid.

At the same time, they have asked for an increase in appearance fees to US$5,000 for test matches, US$3,000 for one-day internationals and US$1,500 per T20 match. Zimbabwe are the only test nation that does not pay their players match fees.

Ten players currently hold central contracts with the cricket association, on an average salary of US$2,000 per month, while the rest of the players negotiate fees with Zimbabwe Cricket on a tour-by-tour basis if they are selected.

“We did our homework and found out what other associations around the world are paying as appearance fees,” Taylor said.

“We understand the financial constraints of the current time, but what we are asking for is the absolute minimum fees that are being paid in international cricket, not what the Indian boys are earning.

“We have asked Zimbabwe Cricket to meet us somewhere in the middle and the response has been encouraging.”

Pakistan are due to play two tests, two T20 matches and three one-day internationals in Zimbabwe, starting with a T20 in Harare on Friday. (Reporting by Nick Said in Cape Town.