Wright joins chorus for Zimbabawe's ouster | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Wright joins chorus for Zimbabawe's ouster

PTI | ByPress Trust of India, Harare (zimbabwe)
Aug 30, 2005 07:23 PM IST

Wright has asked the ICC to review the situation as Zimbabwean team lurches from one disaster to another.

Zimbabwe, on the eve of their match against New Zealand, face another cry for their ouster and this time it has surprisingly come from the usually non-committal former India cricket coach John Wright.

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Wright, back in limelight as coach of the Rest of World team against Australia in Super Series in October, has asked the International Cricket Council to review the situation as Zimbabwean team lurch from one disaster to another.

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Wright also questioned the prevalent infrastructure for the game in Zimbabwe.

"I'm not as much interested in the results as the strength of the game's infrastructure in Zimbabwe," he was quoted as saying in a New Zealand daily.

"The crux of the matter is whether Zimbabwe have the development programmes and the resources to sustain their international presence."

Wright is an important voice in world arena for he guided the destiny of Indian cricket for five years during which 49 Tests and 164 one-day internationals were played by the national team.

He termed Zimbabwe as "very competitive" till six or seven years ago but now he feels they have been unable to extricate themselves from the quagmire of disastrous performances.

The former New Zealand captain said it served no purpose to promote a team which was losing so badly so consistently. 

"Having said that, the results are just the tip of the iceberg. The real issues involve Zimbabwe's capacity to improve and progress as a cricket nation, and maybe that's where the ICC should be playing a role."

"It can't be just allowed to carry on regardless, because failure will breed failure -- it won't help with development."

Wright compared Zimbabwe's plight with Bangladesh and found the latter to offer better hope in contrast.

"Bangladesh have the population base, a passion for the game, a decent budget and plenty of support from India, so they should be okay in the long term. It's hard to see them not making progress.

"But if that's not the case in Zimbabwe, then the ICC need to have the tools and the commitment to review the situation."

As for the Super Series, Wright said he was honoured to be appointed as coach and was looking forward to another opportunity to stand up to Australia.

Under his guidance, India beat Steve Waugh's team 2-1 at home in the 2000-01 series and followed up by holding them to a 1-1 drawn series in Australia in 2003-04.

He said the history of the World concept, and the fact that he would be working with the best players in the world, meant the job carried a burden of responsibility.

"It's very important that the cricket is good. It's even more important that we win."

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