Thursday, 10 November 2011

SIBANDA TO PLAY IN AUSTRALIA

Sibanda confirmed on Friday that he will play for Eastern Suburbs in Sydney Grade Cricket this summer, rather then returning to captain his Zimbabwe franchise the Midwest Rhinos.

The 28-year-old declined a contract offer from the Rhinos this season in anticipation of his Australian venture, as he looks to pick up further experience in the league he played in back in 2006.

"The main thing is the competition that I'll be playing there is a lot more competitive, and the guys I'll be playing with - the likes of David Warner and Brad Haddin - I can feed off and gain a lot of experience to better my game," he explained.

Sibanda said that he hoped to return to Zimbabwe a stronger player for the experience.

"There are all these opportunities out there, and hopefully I do well when I get there. If I do well in the first month then I'd like to think it would open up more windows for me."

Zimbabwe Cricket have made their objection clear to Sibanda, who has pursued the move for some time. He was told by Alistair Campbell, during Campbell's days as convenor of selectors, that he would not consider Sibanda for the New Zealand tour if he went and played in Australia.

Zimbabwe Cricket's reluctance stems from their desire to keep the national players within the franchise system to ensure that the competition does not become weakened.

However, when asked whether his stint in Australia would definitely rule him out of Zimbabwe's tour of New Zealand, coach Alan Butcher butted in to reply: "Not as far as he or I are concerned."

Sibanda has been a mainstay at the top of the Zimbabwe order this season, playing in all three Tests and the majority of their limited overs matches.

Zimbabwe are scheduled to play one Test, three one-day internationals and a couple of Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand.

The tour kicks off with the one-off Test in Napier on January 26

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