The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday confirmed the release of funds to cash-strapped Zimbabwe Cricket board to help them in their endeavour to clear the outstanding dues to its players and staff members. The cricketing board issued a press release to announce the release of payment from ICC, which is a part of the apex body’s controlled funding payment plan. The details of the plan have not yet been disclosed by the board.
“Payment plan proposals will be discussed and communicated to all outstanding creditors once this process has been concluded. This brings welcome relief to the current staff and players and is the first step in the recovery process of cricket in Zimbabwe to its former health and strength,” the release said.
The release of funds has come just a few days after Zimbabwe Cricket board members announced that they have failed to meet ICC’s July 25 deadline on the payment of dues.
Zimbabwe saw five of their key players – Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza, Graeme Cremer, Sean Williams and Craig Ervine – pulling out from the T20I tri-series against Pakistan and Australia and the 5-match ODI series against Pakistan, due to the non-payment of dues. The African nation had a torrid time in the series, losing all their matches, and not registering a single win.
With the release of funds, Zimbabwe will hope to settle the issues related to the dues to players before they travel to South Africa for a limited-overs series in September.
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