LONDON, July 21: Zimbabwe's 15 rebel cricketers will go to arbitration with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) to end their race row and bring the team back into international competition , the players' lawyer told Reuters on Wednesday.

The players, all white, were sacked after refusing to turn out for Zimbabwe in protest at the removal of Heath Streak as captain in a dispute over selection policies, which they viewed as racially-biased.

"We agreed to arbitration with the ZCU," lawyer Chris Venturas said. "We have to do it to try to play some cricket." The row has left Zimbabwe unable to put out a side which could compete at the top level, and they were forced to postpone all their test matches until the end of the year.

The ZCU initially resisted arbitration but relented after the players brought proceedings against them through the International Cricket Council. Those proceedings will now be dropped.

"The ZCU has been put under pressure so they've tabled this arbitration," Venturas said. The players and the ZCU have two weeks to choose their representative on the arbitration panel, and the process should then end within 52 days.

Streak said last week that the team would not play if there was any racial discrimination in the selection policies. -Reuters