LEFT ARM OVER
NEIL MANTHORP: When cricketers in dire straits turned to mine-sweeping
The World XI heading to Lahore do it for those denied their right to a normal, safe life – never mind international cricket
Mine-sweeping was a habit indulged in by touring Zimbabwean teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s when the only income they were certain of receiving was the daily allowance paid by the hosts, that came in cash, too, which made it even more valuable. By the time salaries and match fees were paid, or if they were paid, they’d often been devalued several hundred percent and had become almost worthless. So when players were handed their brown envelopes at the start of the tour containing a crisp $100 note for every day of their stay in Australia or New Zealand – or Pakistan – many of them were perfectly happy to do some mine-sweeping if it meant taking the majority of their meal money back to Harare with them.South African players have never had to resort to that (not at national level, anyway, although plenty of club and varsity teams will be able to relate to it) but we also have a declining currency and our hosts in the First World do grow tired of hearing us note the high cost of...
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