Zimbabwe: Mark Vermeulen Gets the Boot

Kevin Mapasure

17 March 2011

ZIMBABWE Cricket bad boy Mark Vermeulen has been fired by the Mountaineers after yet another tantrum over an umpire’s decision.

Vermeulen was handed a three-match suspension after he angrily contested two decisions by the umpire in a Logan Cup match against Mashonaland Eagles at Mutare Sports Club last month.

Mountaineers won the match by 284 runs with Vermeulen scoring 14 and 9 in the two innings before being trapped leg before by Tino Mutombodzi and Chad Keegan respectively.

According to Mountaineers chief executive officer Philip Senzani, Vermeulen checked video replays on both occasions and went mad when he viewed his second innings dismissal after discovering that he should not have been dismissed.

After learning of his suspension Vermeulen went ballistic and demanded all the money he was meant to get for the rest of the season – a demand which was turned down.

The 32-year-old’s suspension means he is going to miss the Met Bank Pro-40 semi-final and final if his team goes through, as well as missing out on the Logan Cup final. To cap it all, the batsman has also lost his job at Mountaineers.

Senzani confirmed Vermeulen’s suspension saying that it was an unfortunate end to his season after he had played relatively well in all three versions of the game.

Vermeulen has thus effectively played his last match for Mountaineers dealing another hammer blow to a career that started so promisingly but has been dogged by problems.

“The younger players are doing very well; they are scoring hundreds and some are doing well with the ball, so we are taking a shift next season and Vermeulen is going to be one of the casualties,” said Senzani. “If you were a coach or if you were in my position you would probably do the same. We are taking an Arsenal approach to doing things – we are no longer going for the (big) names but nurturing talent.”

Senzani said while Vermeulen may have been unfortunate in the two decisions that have cost him another job, his actions afterwards were a reflection of the frustration that the senior players are having over the strong pressure from the younger players.

“He is not the only one who is frustrated, most senior guys are feeling the heat from the young players and we are excited with the way the boys are coming up. He (Vermeulen) knows that at the end of the day he is going to be judged by his figures.”

The right-hand batsman has a poor disciplinary record which includes, among many others, being banned in England after a violent altercation with a spectator in 2006 while playing for Werneth.

He was arrested on allegations of burning down the pavilion at the Cricket Academy in Harare in November 2006, but he made up with the cricket authorities and was given another chance to represent Zimbabwe.

He eventually made his return to the national team in 2009 during the Bangladesh tour of Zimbabwe where he scored 92 in one of the One-Day-Internationals.

Mountaineers gave him an opportunity to resuscitate his career at the beginning of the current season after he had been fired by Matabeleland Tuskers for disciplinary reasons again.

AllAfrica – All the Time