Zimbabwe unveil preparations for 2008-09

Although Zimbabwe Cricket might be refusing to play Kenya, it has nevertheless unveiled its preparations for the coming year, which includes series home and away to Sri Lanka and, perhaps optimistically, a home series against New Zealand.

The main series are part of the ICC's Future Tours Programme, but Zimbabwe have also penciled in another tour to Bangladesh. As the country are suspended from Test cricket, they will only play one-day internationals and three and four-day first-class games.

The first tour will be to Zimbabwe by Sri Lanka, set for November, although ZC has indicated it would like this brought forward to October. The return leg, as well as the Bangladesh series, will be in the New Year.

However, there will be little other cricket for the Zimbabwe side. The bilateral agreement with South Africa, which enabled various teams to participate in domestic first-class, one-day and Twenty20 cricket there, was shelved in June as a result of the deteriorating social and political situation inside Zimbabwe.

Despite numerous offers from Kenya, ZC has repeatedly stalled and declined to tour there. Insiders claim there is a fear that should the side lose to the Kenyans then it would further undermine Zimbabwe's international standing.

There will also be doubts over the New Zealand tour scheduled for July 2009. Zimbabwe's last series in New Zealand was cancelled after the authorities refused to grant the team entry visas, and the NZ government is a staunch critic of the Mugabe regime and vociferously opposes sporting contact with the country.