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| February 26, 2003 | Wednesday | Zul Hijjah 24, 1423 |
Olonga still part of our plans, says Streak
BULAWAYO (Zimbabwe), Feb 25: Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak insisted on Tuesday that Henry Olonga has not been dropped from the World Cup team because of his black armband protest.
Olonga, who was sacked by his club last week, has not played in the tournament since the first match against Namibia, while fellow protestor Andy Flower has kept his place in the team.
“Henry’s omission has nothing to do with his protest or politics,” said Streak whose team lost to Australia by seven wickets here on Monday.
“We needed to have more depth in our batting, hence the inclusion of Andy Blignaut ahead of Olonga. It was as simple as that — nothing else.”
Streak is the captain of an unsteady Zimbabwe ship.
Both Olonga and Flower were warned by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) on Sunday that they would dropped from the squad if they continued their anti-Robert Mugabe protest.
A few British newspapers reported that some Zimbabwe players had threatened not to play against Australia if Flower was dropped.
“It is their (Olonga and Flower) personal decision if they want to protest but it has not been a distraction for us,” Streak said.
Flower had worn a black wristband, as part of the protest against “the death of democracy” in the strife-torn country in the game against India.
After Flower hit 62 against Australia, questions over whether he had abandoned his protest increased when he failed to field against the world champions.
Team sources said that he was suffering from a groin injury, although he had appeared untroubled while batting.—AFP
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