Axed captain Heath Streak has threatened to sue the Zimbabwe Cricket Union for what he sees as his unjustified removal from the national captaincy.
After failing to get ZCU chairman Peter Chingoka and chief executive Vincent Hogg to reinstall him at a meeting on Thursday, Streak said before returning to his Bulawayo farm on Friday he would be consulting his lawyers.
The ZCU directors have insisted that Streak is out and Tatenda Taibu will replace him.
”Legal action remains an option for me and I’m going to carefully consider that,” Streak said.
”I shall also be considering their offer for me to continue simply as a player. But if I do so, that will not have a bearing on my claim to continue as captain.”
He added that he was disappointed ”to see so much anger by volatile people in authority” over the affair.
The row was triggered when Streak wanted the removal of two selectors, one who had not played first class cricket and the other who has been doing TV commentaries. This would mean one black and one of Asian descent standing down, thus leaving him open to allegations of racism, which have been widespread in the local press.
”My dedication to Zimbabwe cricket and what is best for it over the years just cannot be doubted” he said. ”I knew the selection issue was a touchy one and has been for some years. And it really does need to be addressed.”
Zimbabwe is due to host a Test and one-day international tour by Sri Lanka, which begins in Bulawayo on April 20. – Sapa-AFP