Streak back from the cold for Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's selectors have offered an olive branch to veteran allrounder Heath Streak, naming him as vice-captain for the opening test against New Zealand, starting on Sunday.

The move is seen as a huge turnaround for Zimbabwe's cricket administrators, whose decision to sack Streak last year led to a mass player revolt, allegations of racism and the temporary suspension of the nation's test status.

Streak will take over the role from Dion Ebrahim, signalling not only a thawing of relations between Zimbabwe Cricket and their players, but also a ray of hope for their international future.

Fresh from duty with English county side Warwickshire, Streak will be welcomed back alongside former test players Craig Wishart and Stuart Carlisle, both of whom have been in the international wilderness since March 2004.

The return of the three experienced players is expected to significantly strengthen the Zimbabwe side in the coming two-match test series, and could cause some corresponding difficulties for the Kiwis.

The other news surrounding the team announcement was the recall of paceman Blessing Mahwire, who seems likely to play his first international since being reported for having a suspect action in May last year.

At the time, Mahwire was entitled to keep playing for six months under the international cricket regulations, but was not selected again and was left to address his defect.

However, with injuries sidelining seamers Douglas Hondo, Tinashe Panyangara, Mluleki Nkala, Edward Rainsford and Tawanda Mupariwa, the 23-year-old has been ushered back into the fold to face the New Zealanders.

Apart from the recall of Mahwire, the balance of the seam attack will be made up of Streak, Andy Blignaut and Christopher Mpofu, with leg-spinner Graeme Cremer providing the variety.

As predicted by the Zimbabwe's pro-Government Herald, the selectors also brought back batsman Brendan Taylor, who wasn't expected to resume international cricket until next March after being suspended for nine months.

Zimbabwe will again be led by their Cricketer of the Year, Tatenda Taibu.

New Zealand, meanwhile, touched down yesterday in Harare and deftly sidestepped the political controversies surrounding the tour, with a helpful fend from manager Lindsay Crocker

"We're here to play cricket, that's what we do best," Crocker said after the team arrived from Windhoek.

"We've had a good week of preparation in Namibia and we are looking forward to the test series."

Having spent the past week acclimatising in nearby Namibia, beating their national team in a couple of one-day matches after scoring 300-plus in both their innings, New Zealand have only tonight's warm-up match against a District XI before switching into test mode.

In terms of their test combination, interest is sure to centre on the likely return of fast bowler Shane Bond, and how coach John Bracewell will go about assessing the credentials of Scott Styris, Jacob Oram and Lou Vincent.

Styris and Oram, like Bond, are returning from injury, and Vincent is in a log-jam for middle-order places, despite making a double-century in his most recent test outing against Sri Lanka.

One possible option open to Bracewell is to return Stephen Fleming to the opening position to create room further down the order, although this seems unlikely after his struggles against Australia earlier in the year.

Bond has 43 wickets from just 10 tests at 24.30.

But he has not played a test since May 2003 when he suffered more back stress fractures.

Zimbabwe: Tatenda Taibu (captain), Heath Streak (vice-captain), Andy Blignaut, Stuart Carlisle, Graeme Cremer, Keith Dabengwa, Dion Ebrahim, Neil Ferreira, Anthony Ireland, Blessing Mahwire, Hamilton Masakadza, Christopher Mpofu, Brendan Taylor, Craig Wishart.