Streak calls for total ban on Zimbabwe

Heath Streak: calling for a stop to all cricket against Zimbabwe © Getty Images

Heath Streak has fired a parting shot at the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, calling in today's Daily Telegraph for Zimbabwe to be banned from all international cricket pending an investigation by the ICC.

Streak, who arrived in England yesterday to take up his position as one of Warwickshire's overseas players, claimed that the Zimbabwe board discriminated against players on race grounds.

"I don't think that other countries should be playing Test or one-day cricket against Zimbabwe, home or away, until the current crisis has been resolved," Streak told the newspaper. He went on to say that it was the responsibility of the ICC to try and come up with a solution.

"I hope that things are redeemable and that the damage can be repaired. But there is increasing polarisation between the two parties, and the longer the dispute goes on, the more difficult it's going to be to get an agreement. "Players are being discriminated against because they are white, which is the main problem. But it isn't purely a black and white thing. There's also regional discrimination as well."

Streak added that he still harboured hopes of playing for Zimbabwe again, but admitted that without intervention from the ICC, the chances were slim. "The more players that leave, the more difficult it is going to be for Zimbabwe to be competitive again. I have to think about my family and my future. If I wait for the problems in Zimbabwe to be resolved and nothing has happened in six months' time, then I may have missed the opportunity."

Streak also mentioned that he had received offers from New South Wales and Tasmania.