Cricket: Zimbabwe cricket link to be renewed

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan. Photo / Hawkes Bay Today

New Zealand look poised to resume playing contact with Zimbabwe, with an A team expected to tour the African country in October.

New Zealand Cricket postponed a tour to Zimbabwe last year and again this year because of concerns about health and security.

That tour is expected to go ahead around the middle of next year, and the A team will act as a forerunner of that.

The schedule is likely to comprise several four-day games, and the tour is being designed to give cricket to players who are not required in the extensive T20 and ODI programme of the coming summer.

"It will be really useful for the test specialists who will need to be fit and ready for the tour to India," said New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan yesterday. The tour is being planned to coincide with New Zealand's five-game ODI series in Bangladesh.

Among those likely to be included in the Zimbabwe trip are players such as test opener Tim McIntosh and experienced new ball bowler Chris Martin, neither of whom will be required in Bangladesh, and some of the country's younger, up-and-coming batsmen.

Most of the senior batsmen, such as Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder will be on limited-overs duty in Bangladesh.

New Zealand last played Zimbabwe in 2005, and have been there on four test tours since 1992.