Peter Chingoka has been re-elected as Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) board chairman following a special general meeting held on Friday.
Wilson Manase is his deputy on the board. According to a statement, the elections were held in accordance with section 46 (1) a of the ZC constitution, to convene a special general meeting to elect board directors in accordance with sections 32 (1), (3) and (6) of the constitution.
Chingoka was the first black Zimbabwean to make his name in cricket, thanks to a privileged upbringing that enabled him to be one of the few non-whites to gain an education at multi-racial private schools, Hartmann House and St George’s College in Harare, during the years of racist white rule in Rhodesia.
A seam bowler and useful lower-order batsman, his greatest cricketing achievement was his appointment as captain of the South African African XI that played in the Gillette Cup knockout competition in 1975-76 and 1976-77.
He was able to play multi-racial club cricket for Universals, but was not a major figure and pursued cricket administration.
He was appointed vice-president of the ZCU in 1990 and took over as president on the resignation of David Ellman-Brown in 1992, shortly after Zimbabwe gained Test status.
Zimbabwe will return to Test cricket this year and in interviews last year following the appointment of Alan Butcher as coach, Chingoka said a return to Test cricket in 18 months was realistic.
“We endorsed them (the new coaching set-up) unanimously,” Chingoka said. “They have the full support of the board. If you talk to experts like Dave Houghton and Alan Butcher they will tell you it’s very realistic, and I fully agree with them.
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“We just need to play a lot of games against ‘A’ sides from the leading Test nations. When we get back to Tests, we would want to start with lower sides like Bangladesh and then work ourselves upwards. The management is working on a program to take us to where we want.”
Chingoka said cricket in Zimbabwe was making progress following a period of deterioration that mirrored the economic and political problems in the country.
“It’s healthy and long may it continue,” Chingoka said. “The game is bigger than all of us. Everyone is just concentrating on cricket.”
Zimbabwe announced in 2006 that they were temporarily withdrawing from Tests, having last played India at home in September 2005.
Only a few players from the exodus, including Heath Streak and left-arm spinner Ray Price made comebacks. The country continues to play ODIs and Twenty20s but languishes at the bottom of the world rankings.
However, the domestic structure has been overhauled and restructured with competitions like the Logan Cup. The country’s first Twenty20 competition – the Stanbic Bank 20 Series also got underway where the likes of former Australia all-rounder Ian Harvey and England’s Chris Silverwood featured as player-coaches.
