Peter 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 multiracial 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 multiracial 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. He has held the position ever since, latterly in troubled times. Many on both sides of the political spectrum considered him to be a figurehead, appearing as a genial figure early during his term of office, but he become more hardline in his attitude as his organisation gradually adopted more political undertones, and in 2005 the players and provincial chairmen turned on him, accusing him of mismanagement. In November 2005, almost all the country's players went on strike, refusing to play until Chingoka quit, but he soldiered on regardless and somehow emerged from the mudslinging as head of a government-appointed interim executive. Insiders are quick to point out that he has many friends in high places in the ICC and has networked well in Zimbabwe, a country where who you know matters far more than anything else. In 2007 he was banned from entry to the UK on the grounds of his links to the Mugabe regime - claims he continues to deny. He quit as chairman of ZC in July 2014 following a string of controversies regarding the board's financial state and players' salaries.
Steven Price