HARARE, May 20: Five of the rebel Zimbabwe players selected for the first Test against Australia starting this weekend are refusing to play, a source close to the dissenting group claimed.

The five, who claim they lack match practice to face Australia, were due to join the other 13 in the squad for practice on Thursday but pulled out at the last minute.

Their lawyer Chris Venturas, said their decision was because of the "Zimbabwe Cricket Union's failure to respond to approaches we have made for resolving this issue". "Their intention to practice was a conciliation gesture," he added.

Venturas had been expecting a letter from the ZCU lawyer Alwyn Pichanick confirming that all legal action against the players had been lifted. But it did not arrive. The players had already withdrawn their own legal counter proceedings.

Because of this lack of communication the players decided not to practice. "There is no point now" one of them told Venturas. The five, Stuart Carlisle, former captain Heath Streak, Trevor Gripper, Andy Blignaut and Ray Price were instead to be found talking in a group outside the ZCU offices. They would not say why they were there.

However, the 12 "dissidents" have made themselves available for the three One-day Internationals which are due to follow the Test series. They consider these matches to be "not so important," according to Venturas. No comment was available from the ZCU. -AFP