Where a little cricket is just the ticket to keep the Irish happy

HARARE LETTER:Ireland's experience as a divided country played a role in convincing its cricketers to travel to Zimbabwe

IT WAS bound to happen, I suppose, given all the hoopla around whether the Irish cricket team would be safe and secure after they took the decision to proceed with their tour of Zimbabwe, which is taking place here at the moment.

Two months back, when Cricket Ireland (CI) sought assurances from the Zimbabwean authorities about the national team’s security if it toured the troubled African country, the team’s concerns were addressed satisfactorily by the country’s sports minister, David Coltart.

But before a ball was bowled at the Harare Sports Club in the capital last Monday, the venue for the four-day Intercontinental Cup game and three One-Day Internationals, some of the touring party were fleeced of personal items, including a laptop and a phone.

The culprits were in the bagging handling transit area in Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, however, rather than in Zimbabwe.

It appears no one told the Irish lads the airport baggage area at Johannesburg airport, where they were in transit on the way to Harare, has been known as a gangsters’ paradise for years, such is the extent of baggage theft there.

Sixteen bags were gone through and relieved of various items, and one bag remains missing in action. You couldn’t have scripted a better turn of events if you were a Zimbabwean disgruntled at the suggestion that travelling teams are not secure in their country.

Despite the incident, the Irish team seemed undeterred during the early part of this week’s four-day test, as they got off to a decent start, racking up a score of 136 runs for three by the end of the first day of the encounter. It’s just a pity they couldn’t keep it up.

Talking to Derry-born Roy Torrens, Cricket Ireland’s team manager, before the start of the second day, one got the distinct impression the team was more than happy to be in the country, and that they wanted to leave politics to the politicians.

Our own experience as a divided country played no small part in convincing the team to ignore the nay-sayers and travel to Zimbabwe.

Well, that and desire to put some distance between the two countries in the ICC ODI rankings, where they are currently neck and neck, in 10th and 11th place.

“We in Ireland have had our own troubles, and during that time we spent years of trying to return to normality and encourage countries to come and visit us. So to that end it made our job a lot easier when making the decision to come here,” Torrens said when asked if our past had any influence over the decision to come.

“If by being here we can contribute towards the creation of a state of normality, then our visit will have been worthwhile.”

One might have expected the tour to have generated some publicity in Harare, given it was a bit of a PR coup for the Zimbabweans. Mugabe and his people are usually adept at taking advantage of every little break that comes their way.

But from the locals on the street to the independent newspapers and state-run broadcasters, there has been little interest in the Irish presence, save for straightforward match reporting after each day of play.

The test arena was almost deserted during the opening innings of the four-day match, bar the odd Irish or British expatriate and local enthusiast watching the game while supping beer at the Harare Cricket Club bar. But apparently that is the norm when it comes to four-day cricket matches.

I did run into an Irishman, Desmond Lawlor, who said members of Zimbabwe’s Irish community were saving themselves for next week’s one-day internationals, when they would come out and support the team in force.

Despite all that’s happened in Zimbabwe over the past 10 years a sizeable Irish community is still scattered around the country, the vast majority of whom are in their senior years.

Des, who is a sprightly 82, says the one-day tests will be used as an excuse to get the Irish together for a few drinks and a laugh; happy times remain hard to come by for many whites in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. The majority of the population are living a type of limbo existence, waiting to hear whether elections proposed for next year – and the violence that has accompanied previous polls – will take place.

So next week’s matches between Ireland and Zimbabwe may well prove to be a pleasant distraction from these more serious issues, but probably only for a short time.