Ex-Zim captain hits out at 'spineless' ICC

Ex-Zimbabwe captain Stuart Carlisle launched a bitter attack on the International Cricket Council (ICC) accusing them of being 'spineless' in their relations with the stricken African country.

Carlisle believes the world governing body should shoulder a large part of the blame for the demoralising state of affairs which has seen Zimbabwe suspended from playing Tests for the second time in two years.

"This is very embarrassing for cricket in Zimbabwe," Carlisle told the BBC on Thursday.

"I put 95 percent of the blame on the ICC. They could have done a lot more and avoided this. But they just didn't want to get involved.

"One day the ICC is going to have to stand up and make a decision on something."

"They can't always pass it on and say it's an 'internal matter'. They're going to have to grow a spine and make a decision," he said.

The interim committee of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) announced they would not play any more Tests in 2006 although they were still committed to honouring their one-day commitments.

First Published: Jan 20, 2006 15:55 IST