Check out the work of Zinyange Auntony @zinyange.auntony a participant in the @worldpressphoto Masterclass East Africa held in Nairobi. Visit witness.worldpressphoto.org to see more of this story! The Field Spinners With the majority of the black population getting hooked into the game and gradual transition underway, the only way was up for Zimbabwean cricket. A sport formerly restricted to white minorities has now spread to the townships of Zimbabwe as the sport spirals into an abyss. Young black boys in the high-density areas swap soccer balls on the streets for makeshift stumps and bats. As one of the world’s few test cricket playing nations, Zimbabwe’s ranking among the best has fallen, but behind the scenes lies entangling deeper untold stories. This photo essay centers on the under-reported but fundamental elements of Zimbabwe’s cricketing community. One that goes beyond the score line, shifting focus from the players and shines the spotlight on those who bear the brunt of the politics as they toil quietly on the grounds and go by as the unnoticed figures on the pitch. The grounds staff who paint the lines and lay the pitch before and beyond the much-hyped international tours, and yet are not in the camera’s view when matches are being played. Without their labor, there will be no game as only cricket relies on the pitch it’s played on more than any other sport. For over a decade, cricket in Zimbabwe has been grossly mismanaged. Since the absurd racist expulsion of 2004 when experienced white players were sacked and players of the national team wore black armbands in protest mourning, “the death of democracy in Zimbabwe”. Since then less has been achieved, but all converted into notorious party politics, toxic corruption and a floundering economy. #everydayafrica #everydayzimbabwe @everydayzimbabwe #worldpressphoto #everydayeverywhere #kenya #zimbabwe
