Flower brothers still no fans of Zimbabwe administration

Flower brothers still no fans of Zimbabwe administration

ANDY Flower

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By Sports Reporter

BROTHERS Andy and Grant Flower are still not interested in returning to the Zimbabwe cricket team as long as the present administration remains.

The pair was speaking on Monday after playing for the World XI against the West Indies All Stars as part of the reopening of Kensington Oval on Saturday.

"I walked away because of the state of affairs and not much has changed," former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower said.

"Since then it has gone further downhill. I don't believe things will change unless the government changes, so that's the stage we are at."

The brothers left the Zimbabwe team from 2003, disenchanted with government policies and how the national cricket body led by Peter Chingoka was rife with financial mismanagement, bias and infighting.

Dozens of cricketers have quit the national side, and Zimbabwe stopped playing tests more than a year ago because it wasn't competitive. It has a conditional return to test status in November.

Chingoka was reportedly trying to attract former players for its squad for next month's World Cup in the Caribbean to avoid embarrassment.

The 36-year-old Grant Flower, two years younger than his brother, called for a change of administration in the African nation. Otherwise, he said, the game would die.

"As Andy said, a lot needs to be done to save the game of cricket in Zimbabwe. We would love to help, but we can't work under the present bosses," Grant said.

He predicted a tough time for the team in the World Cup.

"Zimbabwe has been forced to field a team of kids and we have seen the results. It's not the players' fault but I don't see them doing very well in the World Cup out here."

In his international career, Andy was one of the best players in the world, averaging 51.5 runs in 63 tests. Grant made 3,457 runs in 67 tests.

They play for Essex in the English county championship. - AP
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