HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP):
THE TWO-TEST series between Australia and Zimbabwe was cancelled yesterday before a potentially damaging teleconference vote by the International Cricket Council on the status of the matches.
Also, Zimbabwe's 15 dissident players were fired again, despite reports that at least five of the rebels had agreed to return for the limited-overs series.
Zimbabwe Cricket Union president Peter Chingoka met with Cricket Australia representative Malcolm Brown in a Harare hotel yesterday and later confirmed the series was cancelled.
The Tests cannot be rearranged for at least four years, Cricket Australia chairman Bob Merriman told a news conference at the team's hotel.
"We have reached an agreement with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union to postpone the Tests to a date to be fixed," Merriman said. "The ICC has been notified and we expect that will go before their executive board next month.
DISAPPOINTED
"We are naturally disappointed with this outcome concerning the Tests and so are all the players."
Australia's limited-overs squad will remain in Zimbabwe for three one-day internationals in Harare on May 25, 27 and 29.
Cricket Australia said Test players Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and Simon Katich would leave Zimbabwe as soon as possible.
Limited-overs specialists Ian Harvey, Michael Clark, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson are to join the one-day squad.
The Australians were due to practice yesterday, but cancelled that in favour of golf.
"They also have the weekend off, making three days clear," said Jonathan Rose, spokesman for the Australian camp. "Some of the guys may take the weekend somewhere outside Harare. It's up to them. They'll practice on Monday ahead of the first international the following day."
The Test series had been in doubt since 15 senior players boycotted the Zimbabwe national team over the selection policies of the ZCU.
CA chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement that the Australians had always maintained that international cricket was about the best teams playing each other, a situation that was not likely to occur during a boycott.
DISMISSAL NOTICES
The dissidents were sent dismissal notices last week, but the ZCU later invited them back, selecting five of them for the first Test scheduled to start today. The players refused, saying they were not match fit, but said they might be available to play in the one-day internationals.
The players' legal representative Chris Venturas told The Associated Press they had been informed they would not be considered for the matches.
"They have been told they have been sacked, and were instructed to return their cars, their phones and all their other perks," said Venturas.
Venturas said this had been conveyed to him by ZCU legal representative Alwyn Pichanik.
Venturas said he had taken the dissident players' plight to ICC president Ehsan Mani.
"He said he would get back to me as soon as possible," said Venturas.
But ZCU chief executive Vincent Hogg said there was no way back this time for the rebels.
"They are now out, and I mean out," said Hogg.
The crisis began when Heath Streak was replaced as skipper after he demanded changes to the national selection panel, including replacing inexperienced black members. Fourteen fellow players -- all of them white -- went on strike to demand his reinstatement.
A second-string Zimbabwe lineup lost both home Tests to Sri Lanka by an innings this month, and international observers were concerned that pitting another under-strength team against the top-ranked Australians would further ruin the integrity of Test cricket.
Cricket's world governing body welcomed Zimbabwe's decision to postpone the two Tests against Australia.
"This course of action was first suggested by the ICC two weeks ago and protects the integrity of Test cricket," Mani said.
Australia Prime Minister John Howard described the decision as understandable.
"All I can say is that Australian cricket fans want Australian teams to play the best teams from other countries, and they don't want any of those teams selected on the basis of race," he said.
The Zimbabwean government did not immediately comment.
In light of the cancelled Tests, the ICC announced yesterday it had cancelled its scheduled teleconference, when it was expected that representatives of the other 10 Test-playing nations would vote to strip the series of Test status.
Merriman said he had no comment to make on the question of whether Zimbabwe should be removed from the test playing group of nations, nor on the ZCU's sacking of its white players.
"We will be very happy to continue with helping (ZCU's) development programs," Merriman said. "But I have to say that if the tests had gone ahead it would have done greater damage to the sport here, than being cancelled."
