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SYDNEY - The proposed one-day series between Australia and Zimbabwe will not go ahead, even at a neutral venue, Cricket Australia (CA) said today.
CA chief executive James Sutherland spoke overnight to his Zimbabwean counterpart Ozias Bvute, who rejected an Australian suggestion of playing the series in a third country.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Sunday banned the world champion team from going to Zimbabwe on political grounds.
"Mr Bvute made it very clear that playing the series at a neutral venue was not a possibility," a CA spokesman said.
"We can now say definitely that the series will not be happening inside or outside Zimbabwe.
"The next international engagement for Australia will be the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September."
By coincidence Australia's first fixture in that competition is against Zimbabwe. It is expected that match will go ahead as scheduled.
Australia played Zimbabwe as recently as two months ago in a World Cup warm-up game in the West Indies.
- AAP
