Rebels feel Marsh has let them down

Grant Flower has admitted that Zimbabwe's rebel players feel betrayed by the silence of Geoff Marsh, who has been coaching them for the past couple of years. Zimbabwe have stumbled from one humiliation to another with their predominantly black, second-string side, and Flower said that Marsh's attitude had surprised and disappointed the "rebel" players.

On Sunday, Zimbabwe were skittled out for just 35, the lowest total ever in a one-day international, and that too against a Sri Lankan team that had rested Muttiah Muralitharan. According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, Flower believes that that debacle could be the first of many, especially with Australia scheduled to tour in May.

"To be honest, I thought he would have stood up for us and said a little more," said Flower. "He has sat on the fence and obviously just wants to see out his contract. He obviously has his own personal reasons.

"He told us that he had tried for two years to make changes happen but he couldn't do anything about it. I don't want to go too deeply into it. But with everything that's going on, I don't think any of us were too upset at the loss to Sri Lanka. We still want to play for Zimbabwe, but it doesn't look good."

Flower's pessimistic view was shared by John Dyson, whose Sri Lankan team have steamrollered Tatenda Taibu's inexperienced side in the four matches so far. "They'll have huge problems against the Australian attack, I don't think there's any surprises there," said Dyson. "They've really struggled against us ... we didn't even use our spinners in the last match. I've spoken to Geoff [Marsh] at the matches, and he said to me that he's basically doing his job until the end of his contract and then leaving."

The latest crisis in Zimbabwe cricket was precipitated after the rebels supported Heath Streak, who was sacked from the captaincy after giving the Zimbabwe Cricket Union a list of demands related to the manner in which the team was being selected.

The ZCU made token concessions, but have stubbornly refused to waver on Streak and the captaincy, resulting in a virtual 2nd XI doing duty against Sri Lanka.

Malcolm Gray, the former ICC president, told the newspaper that he hoped an amicable solution could be found. "It is usually cricket that loses out with when disputes arise between players and administrators," he said. "It is hoped a joint solution can be found even if there is a temporary suspension of Zimbabwe's commitments."

Flower added that several of the players were considering the option of playing abroad. "One or two of the guys have begun looking at playing options outside of here. No-one's sure whether they'll be able to play for Zimbabwe again. But everyone believes in what we're trying to achieve, so the focus is more on this issue."