Divide and rule ... but for how much longer?

Peter Chingoka: cracks beginning to appear? © Getty Images

In the eight months since the sacking of Heath Streak set in motion events which threatened the future of the game inside Zimbabwe, Peter Chingoka and the Zimbabwe Cricket board have used the divide and rule tactic to good effect. But those tactics now appear to be causing their own problems.

Ahead of its annual general meeting in August, the ZC board realised the provincial associations had the power to remove them and quickly made moves to infiltrate the local set-ups. Mashonaland and Matabeleland Country Districts, Midlands and Masvingo were known to be hostile. And so, Macsood Ebrahim, a senior board member, went out of his way to become chairman of Masvingo, a province where he was virtually unknown.

With Mashonaland, Matabeleland, Manicaland and Masvingo in their control, it now meant that out of the seven provincial associations, four were in support of the ZC board while three were against. If it came to a vote, the four could carry the day. That control was further strengthened at ZC's AGM, when nine of the 12 board members were re-elected, even though rumours of a vote against them had been widely reported in previous days.

But the patience of those backing the status quo was pushed too far by the issue of rebranding. Mashonaland, the leading and most powerful stakeholder in Zimbabwe cricket, announced it was opposed to the change of name (from Zimbabwe Cricket Union to Zimbabwe Cricket) an exercise which is believed to have cost millions of dollars at a time the board was struggling to pay even the most basic of bills.

Zimbabwe Cricket got wind of what Mashonaland was about to do, and in the hours before the press conference some of the province's board were persuaded to back away from giving open support. In his own press conference later in the day, this enabled Chingoka to point out that the MCA chairman and some of the board members were not party to the criticism aimed at ZC.

While Mashonaland still seems determined to oust those running ZC, the question is whether they will get support from the other provinces. Should they fail to so do, then Chingoka and his board will again survive on the divide and rule tactic.

And that approach also applies to the Zimbabwe media. Since April, the state controlled Herald newspaper has been singing the praises of ZC's board while opponents have had criticism heaped on them. Ozias Bvute, ZC's acting managing director, has threatened those journalists who have sought to tell the truth on a number of occasions. Despite the ICC admonishing ZC for the behaviour of some of its members - and this was a thinly veiled reference to Bvute among others - he has continued to do since.

This is not a race issue, nor does it have much to do with the Streak dispute. It is a simple matter of clubs and players being unhappy with the board and they way that it is running the game inside the country.

Since April, ZC's divide and rule strategy has worked well, but the question is, how long will this continue to be the case? One day, enough of the provinces will unite to end the rule of the current regime; one day, the players will tire of being paid a pittance while senior board officials award themselves massive ( by Zimbabwe standards) remuneration packages; one day, the media will stop towing the line and will turn on the board.

For the sake of Zimbabwe cricket, that day cannot come soon enough.