zimcricketnews.com

CricInfo's Steven Price takes a look at the state of schools' cricket in Zimbabwe, and finds things to be in better shape than he expected, especially given the current economic situation there. The tone of the report, the first in a series on how the game is coping away from the top tier, indicates that he was expecting to find the sport in collapse, with little or no support working down from ZC:

In the aftermath of the World Cup, it was well publicised that Zimbabwe received approximately US$ 11 million from the ICC, and questions were inevitably raised as to how that sum was being spent, given the relatively few matches played by the team - they remain in self-imposed suspension from Test cricket - and the small number of players inside the country.

The board, and Peter Chingoka, its chairman, countered the queries with bullish rhetoric about the state of school and club cricket and the investment being made in those areas. But for all the confident talk there remained rumours all was not well, and so I decided to find out for myself.

Happily, that's not what he found - although conditions are hard, the game is flourishing as best it can under the circumstances:

The story in many of the schools was surprisingly good. "All the traditional junior and high schools are still playing cricket and the structures still seem to be there," one administrator told me. "All the age groups are still running." There was also good news among the government schools in high-density areas, where some were lucky enough to have ZC-funded coaches and many were still playing competitive cricket.

It's not all roses, though, as economic reality is forcing many to quit the sport after leaving school, and that may well have a knock-on effect further down the line. The full article is well worth a read, and is somewhat more positive than most of Price's pieces. Next in the series is a look at club cricket - and given the perceived problems with the quality of matches in the provincial & National Leagues, that one may not be so positive...
CricInfo - Battling on despite the hardships