This book provides an understanding of Zimbabwe through cricket. It blends both political and cultural histories with a chronology of the game. Chapters explore cricket’s enduring role over 136 years, a period comprising five forms of government. The British South Africa Company occupied a region where cricket contests rotated with battlefield hostilities. Self-government was granted after the 1922 referendum but white Rhodesians tied their cricket to South Africa, with African and Asian associations emerging later to form parallel structures. In 1953, the Central African Federation promised a policy of partnership but it failed to materialise. Federation was dissolved in 1963, paving the way for Rhodesia’s UDI and a sports boycott. After a decade of civil war, Zimbabwe was granted independence in 1980. Test status was achieved but politicisation and corruption marred progress. Financial restructuring brought stability while a cultural shift transformed cricket into a national passion.

Jonty Winch was awarded a BA (Hons) degree from the University of Rhodesia, an MA with distinction from De Montfort University’s International Centre for Sports History and Culture, and a PhD from Stellenbosch University. His research in Britain and Southern Africa has produced articles for accredited international academic publications and involvement in more than twenty books on sport and education. Through the South African Transformation Monitoring Committee, Winch played a prominent role in the task of recording a full history of that country’s cricket, and placing the development of the game in its political context. Too Black to Wear Whites: The Remarkable Story of a Cricket Hero who was Rejected by Empire (2020) was a ‘highly commended runner-up’ in the 2021 Cricket Writers’ Club book awards on the occasion of their 75th anniversary at The Oval. In recent years, Winch has also produced two editions of World Champions: The Story of South African Rugby (2022 and 2024).