Sport and politics - should teams play Zimbabwe?

[Dry Rot]

Robert Mugabe's regime is brutal and evil and an international pariah, but Zimbabwe is a Test nation.

Should national cricket teams leave politics out of it and not damage Zimbabwean cricket, or boycott them?

[Sunshine]

I hate politics with a passion and I hate it more when mixed with sport however the Zimbabween plight makes for a compelling argument that the two should be mixed.
Right at this moment they are not up to test standard and I think in a few years time they will slip back dramatically. My guess is that they will not be playing test or one day cricket by 2010.

[Sockeye Salmon]

One of my real regrets is that I never got to see Graham Pollock bat until he was 51 (in a David Boon testimonial) but sometimes some things are more important than even cricket.

[Griffen#16]

I think it is OK to play against them, however not in their country where it will help their economy etc.

[southerncross]

I think it is OK to play against them, however not in their country where it will help their economy etc.

They are not up to the standard since the split so basically if you cannot tour the country in my opinion you should have them tour either. Let them play in a 2nds competition and if they ever get their cricket back to a reasonable standard we can always invite them back. I heard once that they only have about 1,000 players competing in competitions. If that is correct they really have been propped up over the years by half a dozen world class players.