A pay dispute between Zimbabwean cricketers and administrators is threatening to turn the upcoming Twenty20 series into a farce.
Former Zimbabwe captains Graeme Cremer and Brendan Taylor were left out of the nation's preliminary squad for a T20 tri-series that will also feature Australia and Pakistan.
The series in Harare is due to run July 1-8 but it's been overshadowed by unpaid match fees and salaries that date back almost a year.
ESPNcricinfo is reporting that some members of the squad announced on Thursday they could yet strike and refuse to play Australia. There have already been some high-profile omissions.
Taylor was the overall leading run-scorer at the World Cup qualification tournament in March, with the highlight being a knock of 138 against West Indies.
But he was left out of a 22-man strong training squad, which will be trimmed to 15 next week.
Former convener of selectors Tatenda Taibu claims Taylor has been overlooked by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) because of his attempt to start a players' union.
"What is this? @BrendanTaylor86 tries to do do the right thing by helping to set up a players union, which all the other countries have," Taibu posted on Twitter.
"Shame on ZC. Everything that has a beginning has an end."
Cricket Australia is confident the tournament will go ahead, having received assurances during a recent pre-tour visit.
Taibu, head coach Heath Streak and ZC's entire coaching staff were fired earlier this year following the nation's failure to reach the 2019 World Cup, while Cremer was sacked as captain.
Taylor, who walked away from international cricket to sign a Kolpak county deal before returning for Zimbabwe last year, confirmed a week ago he wanted to organise a union.
"I'm not trying to have an altercation with ZC. I feel the board and the association can work closely together and we can focus purely on our cricket," he posted on Twitter.
Old hands Sean Williams and Craig Ervine were also notable omissions from Zimbabwe's T20 squad, but Elton Chigumbura is back after an absence of almost two years.
Allrounder Sikandar Raza will also miss the tri-series, so he can play in Canada's new T20 league.
Australian Associated Press
