Guest blog: Politics and Sport don't mix.

----------------Introducing guest blogger Martyn Bradbury----------------

Now, I don't generally give a toss about sport - don't get me wrong, I appreciate the skill required to kick, hit, throw things, but the knuckle dragging mob macho mentality that goes with it has always left me cold, so I tend to never comment about sport or sporting stuff. But sometimes, just sometimes I'm so outraged by something that happens within the sporting
world that I feel the need to stand up and scream 'Oi you NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'! This is one such case.

Let me see if I can get this completely straight on our upcoming tour to Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, (a man who must be getting close to becoming added to the long list of monsters humanity seems to vomit up), tortures, kills and torments his population in some of the most appalling ways and we respond by sending a cricket team?

Now I know the Black Caps are crap, but I think the sense of insult may get lost on Zimbabwe. NZ cricket defends this by saying that they will get fined and might lose out on co-hosting the World Cup with Australia - well excuse me Mr NZ Cricket but maybe that cost is a righteous one to bear, are you seriously telling us money is more important to you than the principle of not touring Africas Killing Fields? I loved NZ Crickets come back that they wouldn't want to deny the 80 000 black players of the game in Zimbabwe, I mean bulldoze a million peoples houses, but for the love of Christ let them play cricket. The financial excuses for letting the tour go ahead are repugnant and lower the entire concept of sportsmanship, if Cricket is
merely a franchise with no deeper ethos to it, I say let it rot in hell.

Now there are some who have pointed out that this is easy posturing because China and America both are killing people at a massive rate and we seem to be quiet in our criticism in those cases, and I couldn't agree more. China is still in Tibet, thousands go to their death and China doesn't allow basic human rights while the US illegally invades countries on trumped up bullshit reasons and is currently responsible for any where between 25 000 - 100 000 deaths in Iraq. These are dreadful things which our spineless government should be criticising, no question. But to hold up our lack of criticism on those events as a reason we shouldn't have a voice on Zimbabwe is simply nonsense, we can do something small, and that is refuse to play with them. How can you play with someone while their country burns from self inflicted wounds? Politics and Sport shouldn't mix, but in extreme cases you can not ignore the cries of those who are suffering, please note NZ Cricket that while you are over there YOU DO NOT REPRESENT ME! And now you've shown your true colours you won't EVER represent me again.