Zimbabwe say they’re coming

Marshall, the president of the Barbados Cricket Association, was the WICB representative at the meeting of the International Cricket Council executive board in Pakistan last Thursday, when he spoke with Chingoka.

"He said that from his discussions with the players, he had every reason to believe that the tour was on," Marshall said. "I did ask him the specific question and that was his response."

At the same meeting, ICC president Ehsan Mani and chief executive Malcolm Speed addressed their concerns to Chingoka, who was reta-ined as chairman when the Zimbabwe government dismissed the national cricket board this month and replaced it with an interim committee.

Zimbabwe cricket has been plagued with internal problems since 2003 and a number of prominent players have retired and migrated to other countries.

The current international players have been resisting Chingoka over allegations of mismanagement and corruption, and are set to meet him and the interim committee tomorrow to try and resolve their dispute.

WICB operations officer Zorol Barthley said last week his board needed an assurance by the end of the month in order to make the necessary logistical arrangements for the two-Test series.

"We really have only a few weeks to finalise bookings for their travel and accommodation," he said.

Zimbabwe’s tour from April 15 to May 15 also includes five One-Day Internationals.