It's now in the open - politicians are the ZCU's masters

The resignation of Heath Streak as Zimbabwe's captain could well signal the start of a mass exodus of the dwindling number of senior players who have stayed loyal to the side. Streak did much to hold the remnants of the team together, and to give it respectability both on and off the field. But it seems that he paid the price for trying to stand up to the increasing politicisation of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU).

Within hours of the news that Streak had stepped down, the ZCU, courtesy of the government-controlled Herald newspaper, was claiming that he had been sacked. It is likely that in the coming days the authorities will start dishing the dirt on Streak, one of Zimbabwe cricket's most loyal servants. Such is the way of life under Robert Mugabe's regime.

A source close to the ZCU explained that while the board had in the past done all it could to remain independent, it had now all but abandoned that stance and was prepared to slavishly follow the policies of Mugabe. Only last week it banned Bryan Strang from playing after he expressed views which clashed with those of the board.

"It's just another example of how the racial element in ZCU is beginning to rule with the corruption and incompetence of our government," the source said. "The government destroys the economy and ZCU destroys the cricket."

He added that the situation was deteriorating because the people who acted for the good of the game, and were trying to protect it, were being driven out. "It's the old story - the more good guys pull out or give up, the easier it is for the bad guys to get their own way. But they all have their own excuses for giving up the struggle."

Streak has clashed with the board in the past, usually over selection matters. During the 2003 World Cup there were disagreements over the make-up of the team, with the ZCU increasingly at odds with those close to the side. "You don't always get the teams you want," admitted a weary Streak at the time. "It's been tough. There have been a lot of political insinuations."

In 2001 Streak quit the captaincy minutes before the start of a one-dayer against West Indies after a row over - surprise, surprise - selection. His passion for Zimbabwe and its cricket meant that when he was offered the job again he took it, even though, shortly before, his father had been arrested by the government for refusing to surrender the family farm. It was claimed that they only kept the land because of Streak's high-profile position.

But at last the point came when unerring loyalty and nationalism no longer counted, and the faceless puppets inside the ZCU felt strong enough to cast aside one of the symbols of normality in the crisis-torn country.

Zimbabwe cricket, like the country itself, will continue to limp along, in remorseless decline and in desperate need of something dramatic to save it. The trouble is, it has just lost one of the few individuals who could help it do that.