Twenty-two years is an eternity in cricket, a sport that measures match in days and history in centuries. When England last faced Zimbabwe in a Test match in 2003, Rob Key was still a middle-order batsman rather than England’s managing director, a 20-year-old Jimmy Anderson was embarking on his debut Test series, and the ECB was preparing to launch the world’s first professional T20 competition.
For Zimbabwe, the intervening years have been turbulent. What began as an effort to transform cricket from a minority sport, played predominantly by the white population, into one that truly represented the nation has been marred by player strikes, political interference, administrative failures, and a dramatic decline in results. The team withdrew from Test cricket for six years, suspended its domestic competition, and faced repeated censure from the ICC. So many players emigrated that today, you could assemble a formidable Zimbabwean XI solely from those plying their trade abroad.
Yet, in one crucial respect, the transformation succeeded: the 2003 touring squad was majority white; this year’s team is majority black.
“Cricket is now a national game,” says David Coltart, the white mayor of Bulawayo, a predominantly black city. “It’s supported by an overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans, black, white, and of other races.” A lifelong advocate for democracy, Coltart was a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change and later served as education and sports minister in Zimbabwe’s coalition government.
He remains one of the few who stayed through decades of upheaval that saw over five million Zimbabweans emigrate. “I believe in Zimbabwe with a passion,” he says. “It’s a country worth fighting for.”
When Andy Flower and Henry Olonga staged their black-armband protest in 2003, mourning “the death of democracy” Coltart helped draft their statement. “My sadness is that they didn’t stay,” he reflects. “We need figures like them.” He also laments the loss of Heath Streak, who remained in Zimbabwe and became a unifying figure before his death in 2023. “Streak was fluent in Ndebele, respected by black communities, and yet a symbol of resilience for displaced white farmers.”
Coltart believes cricket’s evolution was essential. “Thirty years ago, it was a minority sport with few black fans. That was unsustainable.” But he regrets how it was handled. “Like land reform, it didn’t have to be so destructive. The 2004 collapse of Zimbabwean cricket wasn’t inevitable.”
As sports minister, he campaigned for Zimbabwe’s Test reinstatement and lobbied England to resume tours. The ECB refused for years, only re-engaging after Richard Gould became CEO. “England should never have turned its back,” Coltart argues. “Sport bridges divides.” He extends this principle to Afghanistan today: “If players and boards are trying to do right but are constrained by their government, boycott helps no one. Engage, don’t isolate.”
Now, as mayor, Coltart champions cricket’s potential. Bulawayo will host the 2024 Street Child Cricket World Cup. Yet he warns that political meddling persists. “Zimbabwe Cricket’s administration is still too politicized, selection, funding, everything. Politicians shouldn’t be near it. Our best ex-players, black and white, should lead.”
Still, he smiles at the thought of Zimbabwe playing a Test at Trent Bridge. “Despite everything, corruption, injustice, this team shows who we are: a passionately multiracial nation. Cricket proves that.”
