The International Cricket Council (ICC) has called an emergency executive board meeting for Friday to decide if the scheduled matches between Zimbabwe and Australia should retain Test status.
The first of two Tests is set to start on Saturday, and the ICC believes the integrity of Test cricket is at risk by an under-strength Zimbabwe team playing number-one-ranked Australia.
Without 15 senior players who have been protesting the Zimbabwe Cricket Union’s selection policies, Zimbabwe was humiliated in Test and one-day series sweeps by Sri Lanka.
The ICC sent chief executive Malcolm Speed to Zimbabwe this week to resolve the seven-week deadlock, and was dismayed on Tuesday when the ZCU refused to postpone the tests as proposed by the ICC and agreed to by Cricket Australia.
The ZCU also revoked an agreement for its full board to meet with Speed, who instead talked only with chief executive Vincent Hogg and chairperson Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe’s ICC board member.
”The decision by the ZCU to withdraw its invitation to Malcolm Speed was unfortunate,” said ICC president Ehsan Mani in a statement on Tuesday. ”The ZCU has now indicated that it intends to proceed with these matches as test matches and I have called a meeting of the ICC executive board to establish clearly if the ICC directors believe that affording these matches Test status is appropriate.”
Mani said the ICC continued to respect the ZCU’s position about its dispute with the players.
”There is a long-standing precedent within cricket that the ICC does not interfere in disputes between boards and their players without an invitation from the board.
”Where the ICC is clearly involved it is its duty to protect the interests of the international game, and it is for this reason that I have called this board meeting.”
The meeting will be by teleconference. It takes seven of the 10 directors — each representing the test-playing nations — to pass a vote.
The 15 striking players insisted they would not play against Australia in the two Tests or three limited-overs internationals, even after meeting with Speed on Tuesday with the ZCU’s permission.
”He went away after some 45 minutes with a full understanding of our position and saying it had been most productive,” said one of the players on condition of anonymity.
The crisis began with Heath Streak’s dismissal as captain on April 2 after he demanded changes to the national selection panel, including replacing inexperienced black members. Fourteen fellow players — all of them white — went on strike to demand his reinstatement.
The union terminated all of their contracts last week, but invited them back over the weekend on condition they turn up for practice and make themselves available for national selection.
”We will be practicing again, but it will be our own practice,” the dissident player said. ”And we will not be making ourselves available for selection to the test side which meets Australia on Saturday.”
ZCU officials were not available for comment. – Sapa-AP
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