Chingoka and Bvute released without charge

Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute have been released without charge some 36 hours after they were arrested by police in Harare. The Attorney General's office ruled that the pair had no case to answer. They were arrested on Monday night and charged with offences under Zimbabwe's tough Exchange Control Act.

But Chingoka and Bvute will not attend today's stakeholders meeting called by Ahmed Ebrahim where it is expected that there will be an attempt to remove them from office. "How can I attend meetings I haven't been invited to," Chingoka told Reuters. "I do have a bit of etiquette." Ebrahim claimed he has made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the pair.

Their release does not change the reality that both remain deeply unpopular among many factions inside Zimbabwe cricket, and if they remain the crisis is likely to drag on.