Sports

The Scottish cricket team will not travel to Zimbabwe for their ICC Intercontinental Cup match.

The decision has been made following advice from the UK Government and is backed by the Scottish Government.

The game had been scheduled for a neutral African venue but three months ago Zimbabwe was permitted to host it.
Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith said: "As a responsible governing body we could not contravene the unequivocal advice from Government."

Zimbabwe continue to offer the likeliest possibility of international cricket returning to Pakistan, with the board indicating its willingness to help victims of the floods that have ravaged Pakistan.

After New Zealand cricket embarrased the PCB by denying a claim from officials that they were willing to play in Pakistan to help raise funds for flood victims, Peter Chingoka, chairman Zimbabwe Cricket, said his players were ready and willing to play in a country where no international cricket has taken place since March 2009, following the terror attacks on the touring Sri Lanka side.

The head of the Zimbabwe Football Federation Zifa, has been charged over match-fixing allegations.

Zifa Chief Executive Henrietta Rushwaya was suspended last week in relation to a national team tour of Malaysia in December.
It is alleged players masqueraded as members of the genuine national squad, known as the Warriors and Rushwaya failed to intervene to stop the fraud.

A CONTROVERSIAL penalty consigned Dynamos to their second Champions League defeat away to Tunisian side Esperance in a game played in the north African country’s capital Tunis on Saturday.

The Harare side were hoping to get their continental campaign back on track after losing their first game 2-0 at home to Democratic Republic of Congo side TP Mazembe nearly two weeks ago.

FORMER Australian prime minister John Howard's bid to lead world cricket has been rejected, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Wednesday, after a revolt by Asian and African nations.

Howard recently visited Zimbabwe as part of his campaign and although the country was not among the six to sign a letter opposing his candidacy, local cricket officials were said to be among the agitators against his bid.

HARARE — Zimbabwe are set to end their Test match exile and return to the arena with a series against Bangladesh in 2011, according to Peter Chingoka, the president of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU).

Zimbabwe's Test status was initially suspended in 2005 when internal divisions ravaged the team. The International Cricket Council (ICC) also insisted on a more structured domestic game.

HARARE, Zimbabwe — An unbeaten 119 from opener Brendan Taylor led Zimbabwe to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the last preliminary match of the tri-nation one-day cricket series on Monday.

Sri Lanka set Zimbabwe a target of 237 and the host's batsmen responded with a new sense of self-belief and composure under new coach Alan Butcher, reaching 240-2 in 47.5 overs.

Brazil defeated Zimbabwe 3-0 in a World Cup warm-up Wednesday thanks to goals from Michel Bastos, Robinho and Elano.

An almost full-strength Brazil team made a sloppy start at Harare's National Sports Stadium but picked up the pace to earn a comfortable victory with less than two weeks to go before its World Cup debut.

Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine helped Zimbabwe clinch a shock six-wicket victory over India in the opening game of the Tri-Nations series in Bulawayo.

Rohit Sharma smacked four sixes in 114 from 119 balls and Ravindra Jadeja added an unbeaten 61 in India's 285-5.

But Hamilton Masakadza (46) and Taylor (81) put on 88 for the first wicket.

I CANNOT help but feel that there are unspoken reasons behind the New Zealand Government's decision to discourage the New Zealand cricket team from touring Zimbabwe in June 2010.

Prime Minister John Key is reported as stating that the main concern was for "player safety".

But I fear there is more to it than that.

I believe in particular there are deep-rooted concerns about ongoing human rights abuses within Zimbabwe, scepticism regarding the transitional agreement and its chances of survival and, perhaps, distaste for the fact that certain personalities are still in office.

West Indies took a 2-1 advantage in the five-match one-day international series against Zimbabwe following a commanding 141-run victory in St Vincent.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul struck two fours and a six to top score with 58 as the Windies made 245-9 after being put in.

Vusi Sibanda fell just short of a century as Zimbabwe compiled a testing 254 for five in the first one-day international against West Indies in Guyana.

Sibanda was the backbone of the innings with a knock of 95 off 162 deliveries, but his oddly pedestrian stay meant it was left to those around him to provide the impetus.

First Hamilton