Zimbabwe offer to forfeit Intercontinental Cup game

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has offered to forfeit Zimbabwe XI's ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland, and consequently the chance for a place in the final, after Cricket Scotland reversed its decision to send a team to Zimbabwe in October following advice from the Scottish government against visiting the country. The proposal, if approved by the ICC, will result in Scotland gaining full points from the match and qualifying for the final.

Zimbabwe XI are currently second in the league, with 72 points, while Scotland are third with 69. They are the only two teams with a chance of sealing a spot in the final against Afghanistan, who are first with 77 points, in Dubai.

The match was initially scheduled to be held at a neutral African venue before the Scottish board agreed to a proposal to play in Zimbabwe, but a change in the British government's policy led to the decision not to tour. ZC refused to shift their home match to a neutral venue, pointing out that they had not pushed for the match to be held in Zimbabwe, and the venue was decided by the ICC.

"While Scotland's decision not to tour has been attributed to political considerations, we as Zimbabwe Cricket are not qualified to comment on matters political of any country, nor would we want to base the future of the game of cricket on political directives," Ozias Bvute, ZC's managing director, said in a statement. "As such Zimbabwe has no dispute with either Cricket Scotland or the ICC. Instead, we seek only a solution that will ultimately allow for fair participation by all.

"The Associate Member countries use this and other competitions to benchmark and track their progress, which is important to them," he said. "To this end we feel that the Intercontinental Cup is a significant competition in Scotland's development and therefore important that it gets the full benefits associated with playing in it."

ZC said that it had informed the ICC's Events Technical Committee of its position and a decision would be taken on September 27.