Zimbabwe national league limps into life

All rather quietly, Zimbabwe's national league started last week, overshadowed by the board's secret annual general meeting.

The national league is now being played under a new two-day format though it has done little to spice up the image of the flagging tournament. Although all the national sides are taking part, matches have been so one-sided that they have offered little of real value to the selectors.

Despite some obvious talent in clubs, most of the participants in the league are very young and in need of guidance from more experienced players: the average age of players is 20. Except for a few older players, such as Gary Brent and the returning Ray Price, there is almost nobody over 25 in Zimbabwe domestic cricket, a state of affairs reflected in the national side.

Sources says the national league is likely to act as a feeder for the Logan Cup, the country's first-class competition, which itself has been hit by falling standards and may also undergo an overhaul.

The Logan Cup was put on hold as Zimbabwe was preparing to play in South Africa's SuperSport Series, a plan which fell through because of the reluctance of the franchises to take time to play an additional fixture in Harare. However, the Zimbabwe board has been assured by their South African counterparts that they will "definitely play" in the domestic limited-overs and Twenty20 events.