Row reported over Zimbabwe A-team selection

A row has broken out inside Zimbabwe Cricket after the announcement of the Zimbabwe A side to take on Bangladesh later this month. The argument is said to be between a top unnamed ZC official and Bruce Makovah, the controversial convener of selectors, over the composition of the team.

ZC last week named a heavily-depleted A-team squad which included mostly players who have not played first-class cricket. The side was chosen mainly from the weakened ZC National League which ran this year after a number of top clubs withdrew. They ignored players from the splinter local league, which was formed by the rebel clubs which broke away from ZC over administrative differences. This was despite insistence by ZC that players playing outside its own structures would be considered.

However, the bone of contention appears to be within the ZC circles. Sources told Cricinfo that ZC interim committee members and some club officials had confronted Makovah, alleging that he had been biased against some players whose deserved to be picked.

For example, the two best players in the ZC's own National League, Mbekezeli Mabuza and Daniel Soma, were not included. The same goes for the batsmen, where players with glaringly better averages were picked ahead of lesser-performing ones.

Bangladesh A will soon arrive in Zimbabwe for a five week tour.