Tatenda Taibu resigns from Zimbabwe Cricket

Staff Writer
24 November 2005

Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu has resigned, ending his international career with the country. The 22-year-old, who recently received several threatening phone calls said he was quitting because of the current state of Zimbabwean cricket.

He told Reuters that he was doing it “80% because of the current situation in Zimbabwe Cricket and 20% because I do not like the terms of my offered contract.The personal threats I have also had did not help."
Taibu, who has played in 24 Tests and 84 ODIs, took over the captaincy in April 2004 when Heath Streak was sacked after accusing the Zimbabwe cricket board of racism.

He was initially without a large number of players because of their row with the cricket board and results on the field were woeful.

Eventually this year, most of the players were drafted back into the squad after making their peace with the board but Zimbabwe have continued to perform badly. Since Taibu took over as captain Zimabwe have lost nine Test matches and drawn one against Bangladesh. They have played 29 one-day internationals, losing 27 and beating Bangladesh twice. He was also unhappy about the contract offered to him.
Zimbabwe Cricket offered contracts in August that were based heavily on incentives and incorporated much smaller basic salaries than the players had been paid in the past. Taibu is set to play for South African provincial side Cobras for four months and he is also aiming to play county cricket in England next summer.