The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Zimbabwe given two weeks to settle dispute

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Friday, Jul 02, 2004

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Zimbabwe given two weeks to settle dispute

LONDON, JULY 1. The International Cricket Council has given Zimbabwe's officials two weeks to settle a bitter dispute over player selection.

If the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and its players can't resolve the issue, the ICC said on Thursday it would ``make a decision'' to break the deadlock.

Fifteen players were fired by the ZCU after going on strike in support of captain Heath Streak, who was dismissed before Sri Lanka's tour of Zimbabwe in April.

Streak had complained the union's cricket selectors weren't fielding the strongest Zimbabwe team by omitting experienced white players.

In early June, the ZCU agreed to call off all its test matches for the rest of the year. ``If there is no agreement on the issues, we will have to make a decision,'' ICC President Ehsan Mani said at a business forum.

``The ZCU is of the opinion that this process has no jurisdiction, but the ICC's legal advice is that it does.''

Mani said one-day internationals would continue in an effort to develop cricket in Zimbabwe, adding that England's proposed tour of Zimbabwe in the fall would go ahead. He said five one-day matches might be played instead of four.

``The ICC is keen that cricket in Zimbabwe is given every opportunity to survive,'' Mani said. ``The ZCU has taken the game to 50,000 young cricketers every year, and the one-day game enables players to develop their skills.'' — AP

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