Zimbabwe announce 16-member squad

Tatenda Taibu will lead a 16-member squad in the upcoming tri-series, also involving New Zealand and India. The selectors named Heath Streak as the vice-captain and also included other former dissidents - Andy Blignaut, Craig Wishart and Stuart Carlisle.

Zimbabwe will hope for an improved performance in the one-dayers after a thrashing at the hands of New Zealand in the two-Test series. The Zimbabwe Board XI for the warm-up match against New Zealand at Bulawayo on August 22 will be chosen from the same set - minus Taibu and Streak who will be returning after taking part in the Afro-Asian Cup in South Africa.

Kevin Curran, the former Zimbabwe allrounder who recently replaced Phil Simmons as the coach, said he aimed to transform Zimbabwe into one of the top teams in one-day cricket. "I want all the team to rapidly improve by 5%," he told AFP, "because that will impact on the team as a whole. I am a team man but also a really competitive person, and always have been. I want that to rub off and I'm sure it will."

The one-day series gets underway on August 24 with Zimbabwe taking on New Zealand in the opener at Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe squad
1 Tatenda Taibu (capt), 2 Heath Streak (vice-capt), 3 Stuart Carlisle, 4 Chamunorwa Chibhabha, 5 Charles Coventry, 6 Keith Dabengwa, 7 Brendan Taylor, 8 Craig Wishart, 9 Andy Blignaut, 10 Gavin Ewing, 11 Blessing Mahwire, 12 Hamilton Masakadza, 13 Waddington Mwayenga, 14 Edward Rainsford, 15 Vusumuzi Sibanda, 16 Prosper Utseya.