Peter Chingoka
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Peter Chingoka (born 2 March 1954) in Bulawayo) is a Zimbabwean cricket administrator. Helped by a family background that enabled him to attend prestigious schools despite the white supremacist Ian Smith regime, as a player in 1970s Rhodesia he was the first black cricketer to play to a high level, appearing in two List A games for the "South Africa African XI" (sic) in the Gillette Cup competition in 1975-76 and 1976-77.
Chingoka scored only 15 runs in two innings, and his bowling was expensive, with 142 runs coming off 21 overs, but his solitary List A wicket was an impressive one: that of Barry Richards, who Chingoka dismissed for 12 in a game against Natal at Durban. This match was unusual for several reasons. Firstly, with more than five overs in hand and having rattled up 361 for 2 (Alan Barrow 202 not out; Henry Fotheringham 128 not out) Natal declared for tactical reasons, the first such instance in a List A game. The partnership remained a world record for the third wicket in such matches until 1994, and Natal's 283-run victory was the largest in terms of runs until 1987.
After a time in club cricket, Chingoka moved into administration and in 1990 became vice-president of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (now renamed Zimbabwe Cricket) being promoted to president two years later. Over the years his position has become more controversial, with the increasingly political aspects associated with Robert Mugabe's government coming to the fore. Chingoka was involved in the 2004 crisis which saw a number of (mostly white) Zimbabwean cricketers rebel against the board and a much weakened team repeatedly thrashed in embarrassingly one-sided contests. By the following year a number of high profile Zimbabwean cricketers were calling on Chingoka to resign, culminating in the resignation of the black captain of the national team, Tatenda Taibu.
In December 2005, Chingoka, along with Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Ozias Bvute, were arrested by police as part of an investigation, headed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, into allegations of financial misconduct that violated the country's tough Exchange Control Act. About 36 hours after their arrest, both men were released unconditionally under the orders of the Attorney General on grounds that the pair had no case to answer.
On January 6, 2006, the Sports and Recreation Commission, a division of the Zimbabwean government, took over the offices of Zimbabwe Cricket, firing all whites and Asians among the board directors. An interim board has been appointed as the new leading party of cricket in Zimbabwe, with Peter Chingoka appointed as the committee's head.
