JOHANNESBURG, March 10: Batsmen Alistair Campbell and Stuart Matsikenyeri were drafted into the Zimbabwe World Cup squad on Monday after being given the go-ahead by the International Cricket Council.

Campbell, a shock omission from the original 15-man squad and who has not picked up a bat for six weeks, replaced Mark Vermeulen, who suffered a hairline fracture above his left eye after being hit by team mate Travis Friend in the nets on Friday.

Campbell was already in South Africa as a television commentator. “I suppose I’m going from behind the mike across the boundary,” he said on Sunday.

Matsikenyeri replaced leg-spinner Brian Murphy, who tore a calf muscle while warming up during the interval in Saturday’s defeat by New Zealand.

Zimbabwe play Kenya on Wednesday. They need to beat the Kenyans and Sri Lanka on Saturday to have a chance of reaching semifinals.—Reuters