Batsman Grant Flower has been ruled out by the badly cut finger he sustained while fielding in the match against India in Harare on Feb 19. He will be replaced by Mark Vermeulen.
Flower’s brother Andy passed a fitness test on Thursday on the groin strain he suffered during his innings of 62 against Australia on Monday.
The Flowers, who are Zimbabwe’s most experienced players with 403 one-day appearances between them, shared an 84-run third-wicket partnership against Australia.
Andy Flower could also be in danger of being omitted from the team if he continues his stand against human rights’ abuses in Zimbabwe, which he began by wearing a black armband in the match against Namibia in Harare on Feb 10.
Fast bowler Henry Olonga also wore a black armband against Namibia, and he has been left out of both Zimbabwe’s subsequent matches.
Flower and Olonga donned black wristbands when Zimbabwe played India, and white wristbands symbolising peace in the game against Australia.
The Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) has ordered the pair to stop using World Cup matches to make political statements. However, officials would not say what action would be taken against them if they ignored the warning.
“They won’t,” ZCU managing director Vince Hogg said on Thursday when asked what the union would do if the Flower and Olonga continued their protest on Friday.
“I’m not going to answer that question — we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he added.
Zimbabwe need to beat the Dutch as well as Pakistan, who they play in Bulawayo on Tuesday, if they are to remain in contention for the Super Six.
“Obviously, we’re just focusing on tomorrow’s game,” Zimbabwe coach Geoff Marsh told reporters on Thursday. “If we don’t play well against Holland it’s the end.
“If we win, we’ll have a look at how things are panning out in the group. Every game now seems to change things around, so we’re just focusing on tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Holland squad arrived at Bulawayo airport on Thursday, having shortened their trip to strife-torn Zimbabwe over safety concerns.
The Dutch had been scheduled to fly in on Wednesday but decided to cut back their visit from three to two nights.
“Out trip was shortened because of the problems involving Zimbabwe,” Dutch captain Roland Lefebvre said. “We don’t want to be here much longer than we have to be.
“But we’re happy to be here and we’re looking forward to the game. We leave the political questions to the politicians and let them deal with those issues. We are here to play cricket.
“The reason why we are here is because the safety is OK. That was our major concern.”
Holland, who will fly out of Bulawayo on Saturday morning, ruled out following England’s lead in refusing to play in Zimbabwe. Some Dutch politicians have argued for a boycott because of the social and political unrest in the country.
World champions Australia also shortened the length of their trip to Zimbabwe, arriving on a specially chartered flight the day before their game in Bulawayo on Monday and flying back to South Africa directly after the match.
Teams (from):
ZIMBABWE: Heath Streak (captain), Andy Blignaut, Dion Ebrahim, Sean Ervine, Andy Flower, Travis Friend, Douglas Hondo, Douglas Marillier, Brian Murphy, Henry Olonga, Tatenda Taibu, Mark Vermeulen, Guy Whittall, Craig Wishart
HOLLAND: Roland Lefebvre (captain), Luuk van Troost, Daan van Bunge, Jacob Esmeijer, Victor Grandia, Feiko Kloppenburg, Tim de Leede, Henk Mol, Klaus van Noortwijk, Adeel Raja, Edgar Schiferli, Reinhout Scholte, Jeroen Smits, Nick Statham, Bas Zuiderent.
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Tyronne Wijewardene (Sri Lanka).
TV Umpire: Nadeem Ghauri (Pakistan)
Match referee: Clive Lloyd (West Indies).—Reuters/AFP