LONDON, Dec 6: England captain Michael Vaughan has hinted that he does not believe Zimbabwe should be allowed to return to Test cricket after his side's 4-0 victory in the controversial one-day series.

Zimbabwe were banned from test cricket for the rest of 2004 by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in July after fielding a weakened team because of a dispute between leading players and Zimbabwe Cricket.

However, they are due to play Tests in Bangladesh in January. "They were banned a year ago for fielding a weakened team," Vaughan told BBC radio on Monday. "That team still seems to be the same. I'll let you judge on that one."

Vaughan previously expressed disapproval at the standard of Zimbabwe's one-day team as England cantered to four easy victories. The scheduled five-match series was reduced to four after England postponed travelling to the country when a large number of British journalists were not allowed to cover the matches.

However, the Zimbabwean authorities relented and the remainder of the tour went ahead. Meanwhile, England will not co-operate with Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) over repeated claims for compensation for a cancelled one-day match.

The first One-day international was scheduled for 26 Nov, but England were still in South Africa. Zimbabwe government reversed a decision to block entry to several journalists at the last minute.

"We continue to attribute any loss to the delay in accrediting the 13 UK journalists," said England & Wales Cricket Board spokesman Andrew Walpole. After their eventual arrival, England refused to re-schedule the first match.

But ZC are now claiming the cancelled match has cost them US$600,000 (310,000 pounds) in lost revenue from sponsors and television companies. England believe the deficit, which they have no intention of paying, is in any case less than one-tenth of ZC's estimate.

Ozias Bvute, acting managing director of ZC, said in Harare: "We will meet England & Wales Cricket Board soon to discuss the matter and deal with it in an amicable and professional manner." -Agencies