Zimbabwe

It's hard not to be moved by the scenes and feelings that followed Zimbabwe's epic defeat of Pakistan - but don't forget, they were so close to the brink ...

[ICC suspended Zimbabwe](https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/zimbabwe-suspended-by-icc-over-government-interference-1195171)and put them out in the cold, the first time they had done so to a Full Member. A small nation that had much to give and little to lose threw its lot into a sport that sometimes doesn't quite seem to love it back enough, and showed what cricket could be with a lot more joy and a little less avarice. [when Zimbabwe beat Australia in 1983](https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/prudential-world-cup-1983-60832/australia-vs-zimbabwe-3rd-match-65066/full-scorecard)in their first taste of a global cricket tournament. It is the country of the sonorous, melancholy tones of Oliver Mtukudzi, whose music and relentless, crusading social commentary made him not just an icon in the country, but an African hero. Not much later, Ryan Burl was pleading for the players [to be given decent shoes](https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/diy-star-ryan-burl-embodies-new-zimbabwe-ethos-1339911)so they wouldn't have to glue them together. [sent home from a tour](https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/tinashe-panyangara-expelled-for-indiscipline-774619)for apparently sharing a WhatsApp video of Mitchell Johnson bowling bouncers. In 2014, the Zimbabwe Professional Cricketers' Association had to beseech ZC to set aside 25% of its revenue from the T20 World Cup that year to ensure player salaries were paid on time. [in lashing rain in Hobart](https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/icc-men-s-t20-world-cup-2022-23-1298134/south-africa-vs-zimbabwe-18th-match-group-2-1298152/full-scorecard), simply to get a game against South Africa in. Four years ago, he hadn't even played a first-class game, and found himself in Wales, hoping to stay in the UK long enough to get a British passport. It didn't come to that, but the Zimbabwe camp was furious, and felt that if the positions had been reversed, and South Africa had to bowl in the rain, it would have been called off sooner. Their Full-Member privileges were used to move them around like pawns in voting battles, the carrot of a lucrative series dangled in front of them in exchange for their consent. Australia last toured Zimbabwe for a Test series in 2003, and it wasn't until 15 years later that they visited again for a T20I tri-series.