frogblog

National has formally announced its position on cricket ties with Zimbabwe (some two and a half months after Rod wrote to Don Brash about the issue). So, it’s a long time coming, but the policy is by and large a good one. National says it:

• Opposes the tour going ahead.
• Supports the Government’s decision to prevent the Zimbabwe cricket side from touring New Zealand later this year.
• Believes the Government should cover any fine imposed on NZ Cricket by the International Cricket Council if the tour doesn’t go ahead, but should not cover any other costs incurred such as lost revenue.
• Opposes the team being prevented from going to Zimbabwe if NZ Cricket wants to send it.

I don’t often get the opportunity to say this, so I shall savour it: well done, Don Brash! It’s clear from the media coverage that neither Dr Brash nor National sports spokesperson Murray McCully know the first thing about the issue (they have been horrendously badly briefed, something the Dominion Post has already picked up), but good on them for coming to the right position despite their ignorance.

We should all be clear that paying the ICC fine should be the absolute last resort - because, as Phil Goff says, the last thing anyone wants is the Zimbabwe Cricket Union getting New Zealand taxpayer money, which could be funnelled into the pockets of its patron, Robert Mugabe.

However, Goff’s spin on this issue shouldn’t be accepted wholesale. The money that would go from NZ Cricket to the Zimbabwe Cricket Union as a result of an ICC fine - estimated by the Dominion Post as being as much as $50 million - is for lost revenue.

That is to say, if the tour is called off and the ICC decides it is appropriate to fine NZ Cricket, an estimate is made of how much money the tour would have made the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. NZ Cricket is then required to pay that money as a fine. So, we’re talking about money that Zimbabwe Cricket will get regardless, whether the tour goes ahead or not. If the tour goes ahead, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union will make a profit. If the tour doesn’t go ahead and NZ Cricket is fined, then the Zimbabwe Cricket Union will be reimbursed for the profit they would have made. So, Goff can bleat all he likes about New Zealand money going to Robert Mugabe, but the money would go to him either way. The only difference between the two scenarios is whether the money comes as a result of the tour or as a result of the tour’s cancellation.

So, while Goff wants to paint this issue in black and white, the real question is this: are we more comfortable with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, of which Mugabe is the patron, making money off of the Black Caps’ touring or are we more comfortable taking a moral stand and giving them that same money as a result? It’s obviously a difficult question, but it’s clear where New Zealanders stand.

Thankfully, there could be ways to cancel the tour and avoid an ICC fine. That way, we could have the best of both worlds: no tour, and no money for the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. Watch this space.

Anyway, regardless of all this, what National’s policy does do is make clear to Robert Mugabe and the ICC that there is political consensus in New Zealand that the Black Caps’ tour of Zimbabwe should not go ahead. Now we just have to find a way to make that happen.

UPDATE: The itinerary for the tour has just been released. The Black Caps will play two tests against Zimbabwe from August 7 till August 19, then five one-dayers against Zimbabwe and India between August 24 and September 6. So, assuming the election is held on September 17, this issue could haunt the Government right up till eleven days before polling day. It needs to find a solution, and fast.

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