zimcricketnews.com

...and the twists and turns continue. Zimbabwe's participation in the 4-day SuperSport series has now been ruled out by Cricket South Africa, following their board meeting on Friday, while their places in the MTN Domestic Championship and Standard Bank Pro20 competitions is still under review - although given the apparent reluctance of the South African franchise sides to play against / in Zimbabwe, I have to say it looks unlikely.

According to CSA, the decision was taken for "cricketing reasons" (over the extra fixtures and possible impact of Zimbabwe playing the competition, especially if the fixtures clashed with their international obligations), and that CSA would now look at other ways of helping Zimbabwe gain top-level match experience:

"Instead of them playing in the SuperSport Series, we are looking at the possibility of Zimbabwe playing some four-day matches in South Africa against composite teams. The decision has been taken. It is now a matter of sorting out logistics."

Colour me disappointed, but not surprised.
CricInfo - Halt on Zimbabwe's participation

Zimbabwe's SuperSport Series opener against Highveld Lions, due to take place in Harare between 28-31 October, has been postponed. Cricket South Africa are due to set a new date for the match following a board meeting on Friday (26th). Reports indicate that some South African players are unhappy with the prospect of travelling to Zimbabwe to play their matches, while the franchise sides were apparently not consulted about Zim's admission to the competition. Speaking to SuperCricket, the Chief Executive of the South African Cricketers' Association said:

"There is great unhappiness about the decision to allow Zimbabwe to play in the three South African competitions. The decision was taken unilaterally by CSA, without consulting the players or the franchises. We were not involved in the issue at all. Questions from the players' association and players were ignored. Our objections are purely cricket-related. We feel the game is being watered down when only one team will play for points while their opponents [Zimbabwe] are playing a mere friendly match. Something else that is causing concern is that Zimbabwe will be at full strength against some franchises but will field their second best against others when their national team play internationals. It is not fair that some South African teams will face weaker opposition then others."

In short: don't be assuming these matches will go ahead at all just yet...
SuperCricket - Franchises 'no' to Zimbabwe? | zimcricket.org - Zimbabwe Supersport Series opener postponed

Worth pointing out that Zimbabwe's SuperSport Series match against Lions (28-31 October in Bulawayo) clashes with the 1st and 2nd 'A' ODIs against Sri Lanka 'A' (28 October in Bulawayo, and 29 October in Harare). Two likely outcomes of that: the 28 October match against Sri Lanka 'A' will need to be postponed, cancelled or played elsewhere (Bulawayo Athletic Club, maybe?), while with ZC having undertaken to play their strongest possible side in the SuperSport Series, if the matches go ahead they'll have to play a weaker side (Zimbabwe 'A'?) against Sri Lanka 'A'. No news on what ZC will do - I'm just speculating, after looking at the fixture lists - but they'll have to make a decision soon...

The Fixtures page has been updated with the lists of Zimbabwe's matches in the SuperSport Series, the MTN Domestic Championships, and the Standard Bank Pro20 competitions. Zim's presence in these competitions gives them a full fixture list through to April 2008, with the West Indies tour slotting neatly into a gap in the SuperSport Series.

Cricket SA have published details of Zimbabwe's admission to these competitions, and how they will affect the way they're run - detailed below the cut if you're interested. Of note are the rules regarding the SuperSport Series, in which Zimbabwe are only playing their home round - in practical terms, the SA franchise sides have been awarded the points for the unplayed matches, leaving Zim at just a bit of a points disadvantage.

UPDATE 2:...and confirmed by Cricket South Africa: Zimbabwe will be fielding a side in all three of South Africa's top-tier competitions:

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Monday announced details under which Zimbabwe will put a representative side in all three professional franchise competitions in South Africa this summer.

Zimbabwe have undertaken to field their strongest available team in all matches.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision taken by the boards of the two countries, Mr Brian Basson, general manager, CSA cricket operations, said that all full member countries had been requested by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to assist Zimbabwe in the development of their cricket.

Because of the close geographical proximity, CSA had a special responsibility in this regard.

Because of the late timing of the decision, Zim will only play some of their 4-day fixtures, but will fulfill a full fixture list in the one-day and Twenty20 tournaments.

Worth noting is the possibility of this being a long-running arrangement, with CSA stating that the initiative will be reviewed at the end of the season.
Zimbabwe to compete in all franchise competitions