South Africa unwilling to host second-string Zimbabwe

Within a day of the scrapping of Zimbabwe's Test series against Australia comes the news that South Africa might not be willing to play them either. The South Africans are scheduled to play three one-dayers and two Tests at home in February 2005, but Ray Mali, the president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, stated that they wouldn't host a second-string Zimbabwe team.

Agreeing with the decision to postpone the Australian series, Mali said: "We would not like to play against a very inferior Zimbabwe team and so we will be doing everything possible to assist them in the development of a top-class side."

Talking to Reuters, Mali stressed that the South African board would continue to work with the ZCU in an effort to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe. "I have spent the last two weeks talking to the Zimbabwe Cricket Union as the representative of our board and things have turned out the way we wanted. But no cricket board can be held to ransom and the issue with the rebel players must be resolved quickly."

Zimbabwe have played five Tests against South Africa so far, but only one of them was an overseas game, at Bloemfontein in 1999-2000, when a full-strength Zimbabwean team - inclusive of the Flower brothers, Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson - were thrashed by an innings and 13 runs. If the tour to South Africa does happen, the plight of Tatenda Taibu and co. would, one suspects, be much worse.