ICC and ZCU disagree over disputes procedure

Most of Zimbabwe's rebel players may by now be scattered across the globe, but the ramifications of their dismissal continue to rumble on.

Their solicitor, Chris Venturas, admitted at the weekend that the players consider the matter almost at an end. But he did deliver a parting swipe at the ICC who, he claimed, was directly asked on May 20 to form a dispute resolution committee to arbitrate in the showdown. "We gave the ICC seven days to get back to us and we haven't heard anything," he said. "We have to assume that nothing is happening, or even if it is it's too late for my clients. They want to move on."

For its part, the ICC denies that it has ignored the rebels' request. "A panel has not been formed at this stage because the ZCU is disputing whether that system has any jurisdiction," Brendan McClements, the ICC's corporate affairs manager, told Reuters. "We have said to the ZCU we think it does and the players have said to us they think it does. The ZCU do not concur.

"He [Venturas] is right in that a panel has not been convened at this time, primarily because the ZCU are fighting it and saying it wouldn't have any authority."

McClements added that both sides were now taking legal advice about how to proceed.