Olonga granted extended visa to stay in Britain

Henry Olonga has been granted a five-year visa to remain in Britain. Olonga hit the headlines earlier this year when he and team-mate Andy Flower staged a protest against the Zimbabwe government during their first World Cup game. The players claimed they were mourning the "death of democracy" in Zimbabwe.

Both players decided to retire from international cricket after the World Cup. Olonga, who said he was threatened by the ZImbabwean police, quit the country and moved to England, while Flower now divides his time between playing county cricket for Essex in England and in domestic cricket for South Australia.

Olonga, who is a talented singer and is planning a musical career, is due to undergo knee surgery later this month and believes he may not play first-class cricket again. "I've torn about a square centimetre of cartilage which is floating around in my knee," he told the BBC Sport website. "It's got to be taken out and then they've got to find the source. The specialist reckons it's from the back of my knee but he can't say how bad the damage is until he goes in.

"My knee is the latest in a whole string of injuries that have spanned my career. I'm 27 and I'm starting to feel 40."

Olonga worked as an analyst for Channel 4 in England last summer, and also joined the BBC's Test Match Special radio commentary team during Zimbabwe's tour. And he also played for Lashings, a Kent-based club side, which now employs him as a public-relations officer.

Olonga and Flower were awarded life membership of MCC recebtly in recognition of their stand against the regime of Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe.

Olonga concluded: "I'm not sure if and when I'll return to Zimbabwe. If the current regime stays in power, then I've got no chance. If things were to change, it may well be that I won't stay here all that time - but I will plan my life as if I'm going to be here for those five years.

"I'm not going to make any predictions but where I end up staying and working will be determined by the next moves I make in my career, whether it be cricket or music. If it's cricket, I may well go back. But if music takes a central role in my life, it's unlikely I'll go back to Zim."