Zim: Dion Ebrahim Dropped 11 Feb 2005 By: Richard Twyman

Former vice-captain, Dion Ebrahim has been sacked from the Zimbabwe senior team. Following a disappointing run of form against Bangladesh, Ebrahim has been excluded from the 14-member party to tour South Africa.

Instead Ebrahim has been asked to prove his worth for Zimbabwe 'A' against their Bangladeshi likeness. Favourable results will likely see him called to the Test team.

Also missing from the Zimbabwe squad are Vusi Sibanda and the unfit Mluleki Nkala.

Coming into the squad are two relatively untried players - Gavin Ewing and Sean Williams. Indeed, 18-year-old Williams has played just one First Class match, though he has had a measure of success at the Under-19 level. His left-handed batting and left-arm orthodox spin bowling have gotten him noticed in Zimbabwe cricket and he scored 157 runs at 31.40 whilst taking 5 wickets in the 2003/04 U19 World Cup.

Ewing has played international cricket before, but only managed 3 matches before being dropped. His 2 Tests featured mixed results. A highest score of 71 has been garnished by just 3 runs in his other 3 innings and he has taken just 1 wicket at the expense of 119 runs. In his lone ODI, Ewing bowled 7-0-36-1 and was out for a duck.

Still Ewing's impressive career record brings him back into consideration, as he has scored over 1600 FC runs at an average of 45.05, also taking 80 wickets at 31.05.

The team departs next week Tuesday for the 2-Test series.

The Squad:
Tatenda Taibu (C/wk), Douglas Hondo, Tawanda Mupariwa, Sean Williams, Gavin Ewing, Christopher Mpofu, Tinashe Panyangara, Elton Chigumbura, Prosper Utseya, Barney Rogers, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Hamilton Masakadza, Graeme Cremer and Brendan Taylor.