Up to 11 Zimbabwe players will boycott a tomorrow's training session in Harare in support of former captain Heath Streak, it was reported today.
The boycott will be the latest development in a saga that began on April 2nd when Streak's tenure as captain ended at a Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) board meeting.
The ZCU said Streak had resigned the captaincy and quit all cricket after his demands concerning the composition of the national selection committee had been dismissed.
The pace bowler's father, Denis Streak, has denied his son resigned.
"We were due to practice at 9 a.m (7 a.m GMT) but everyone has agreed that we won't turn up," a senior player said from Harare.
Eleven contracted players have threatened to resign if Streak is not reinstated as captain, and they are due to resume negotiations with the ZCU on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe play Sri Lanka in the first of five one-day internationals in Harare on April 20th.
The ZCU has appointed wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, 20, as captain.
He will become the youngest test captain when he leads Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka in the first test in Harare on May 6th.
Zimbabwe, who are already struggling to compete at test and one-day level, lost two leading players - batsman/wicketkeeper Andy Flower and bowler Henry Olonga - after the 2002 World Cup.
The pair wore black armbands to "mourn the death of democracy" in Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe's administration at the tournament in Southern Africa and retired from international cricket afterwards.