Correspondent|Sports, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry has come under fire for conveying Zimbabwe’s Cricket National team historic Test- match win against Bangladesh through former captain Brendon Taylor.

The tweet has been taken as a breach of protocol by sports critics who also raised stinking issues of racism, something that has always haunted the Zimbabwe Cricket.

The current captain is Hamilton Masakadza and many critics are of the view that he is the conduit between the minister and the players.

Zimbabwe made a historic win on Tuesday winning the their first Test match in 17 years while Masakadza wrote his own piece of history when he recorded his first win across all formats of the game since his appointment as Chevrons captain mid-year.

Coventry’s tweet stirred debate as many argued that Brandon Taylor had nothing to do with the national team and as such the minister must have followed proper protocol.

Since her appointment as minister two months ago, Coventry has been rarely active on the public domain only to resurface with the controversial tweet.

Below is the tweet:

“I had an amazing chat with @BrendanTaylor86 to send congratulations to our cricket team. They are so pumped and they should be! Its important that all our athletes, like our artists and musicians, have the best environment so they can perform at their ultimate! Working on it…”

Below are some of the responses to Coventry’s tweet.

@KudaTheStar

Replying to @KirstyCoventry @BrendanTaylor86

Brendan is a former captain & an elder in the team & perhaps she just happened to have his contact. No disrespect to Hamie, obviously if she had the Num she would have called him too.Don’t pull the RACE issue here. This lady has done so much for the country.

Nyemudzai Kakore‏ @NKakore

FollowFollow @NKakore

Replying to @KirstyCoventry @BrendanTaylor86

As an Honorable Minister of Sport, you failed protocol.Why not an amazing chat with the whole team, Captain or Coach?

Replying to @KirstyCoventry @BrendanTaylor86

Whas this a personal chat or official one? Because if it was official the captain Hamilton Masakadza deserved the honours.

Ggmxizu‏ @gudrunguy

Noone said she should not chat to Brandon. But she is supposed to observe protocol first. Congratulate the team captain and chairman or even coach not ask a normal team player to convey the message. That is plain rude and unprofessional.

Soko Murehwa‏ @MurehwaSoko

Replying to @KirstyCoventry @BrendanTaylor86

Protocol Minister Credit is given to Captain, Or Man of the Match, Vice Captain and the team. Not personal chats if it’s personal keep it on whats app don’t publish.

Paul Zibani‏ @PaulAnni1 26m26 minutes ago

Replying to @DimplesSimples @MurehwaSoko and 2 others

If this is a personal (white to white) chart, how does she end by saying she is “working on it….” in her personal capacity? She can only say/do so in her official capacity. White face of a murderous regime, pulling her white kith nd kin into the party.

M&T