Quotas 'a bone of contention' for some time - Flower

Zimbabwe's policy of having colour quotas in the national side had been a problem for some years, Andy Flower, the country's former captain, told the Australian Associated Press today. Flower had just arrived in Adelaide to join the South Australia team he will play for this summer.

Flower said that while he hadn't been involved for a while, the issue had been what he described as "a bone of contention" for some years. "Some believe it's the right way forward and some disagree. There are various schools of thought and there has certainly been an element of it over the years, and probably is now."

But while Murray Goodwin, now playing for Western Australia believed that was why some members of the side playing in Perth had been included, Flower believed all the players in the side now, vice-captain Tatenda Taibu and fast bowler Douglas Hondo deserved their places.

"The guys that are there at the moment are [good enough]," he said. I have played some cricket with a lot of those guys. Zimbabwe is a very young side, the sooner those guys get in there and face up to stiff competition, the better. Guys like Taibu and Hondo have done pretty well in short stints in international cricket and I hope they carry on their learning experience."

Flower, who had decided to leave Zimbabwe, said it wouldn't be the smartest thing to go back there at the moment. "But I have strong feelings for the country and I hope things turn around there. A lot of the decisions being made there at the moment by the hierarchy are poor decisions," Flower said.