It's been a bad fortnight for Zimbabwe cricket with the national side attracting unwanted headlines from all quarters. Heath Streak has discovered how lonely life can be at the top. A hero one minute: shot down in flames the next by mischief-makers accusing him of racial bias.

The catalyst for this sad affair was the injury to Andy Flower. A tough replacement wicketkeeper was needed and Streak, mindful of the hazards of blooding players too early, let it be known that he favoured the streetwise Donald Campbell. The selectors instead chose brilliant schoolboy Tatenda Taibu – precipitating a standoff with Streak and Coach Carl Rackemann. Streak resigned the captaincy but was restored one game later after the promise of a voice for either himself or Rackemann in future selection meetings.

This in turn led to three of the six national selectors – Ali Shah, Mac Dudhia and Steven Mangongo - resigning in protest at the dilution of voting powers. All three were subsequently persuaded to reconsider by an increasingly busy Z.C.U. president Peter Chingoka. To cricket observers from afar these rumblings would seem very small potatoes, but in powder keg Zimbabwe they don't come any bigger.

Central to Streak's thinking on the selection issue was the rationale that youthful black selections have failed in the past. He readily acknowledges that Taibu is the best wicketkeeper, but sought to protect him from premature burnout as seen with players like Madondo and more recently Nkala.

His position was fully supported by the Zimbabwe team. Concern with the recriminatory climate prevailing in the local media prompted the players, through the Zimbabwe Professional Cricketers Association, to send a policy document to the Z.C.U. confirming support for the board's policies – racial or otherwise.

This body, which represents all Zimbabwean professional cricketers, has a stated goal of bringing more black people into cricket. The Association is happy in cases of near equality for blacks to be favoured over whites, but are unhappy for selections to be made on race alone.

With so much backroom politics going on, it's little wonder Zimbabwean cricketers have gone off their game, suffering a string of defeats in the India/West Indies Tri-Nations series currently under way in Harare and Bulawayo. Some positives have been the wicket-keeping of Taibu and the welcome return to form of Craig Wishart, a perennial under-performer who has resolved to enjoy his cricket whatever.

© CricInfo