Zimbabwe cricket duo make protest

Zimbabwean cricketers Andy Flower and Henry Olonga have pleaded for an end to human rights abuses in their country before launching their World Cup campaign.

Batsman Flower and bowler Olonga will wear black armbands during the tournament to mourn the “death of democracy” in their country under Robert Mugabe’s oppressive regime.

The pair issued a joint statement before Zimbabwe’s opening match today against Namibia in Harare.

The statement read: “In doing so (wearing the black armbands) we are mourning the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe.

“We are making a silent plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. We pray that our small action may help to restore sanity and dignity to our nation.

“We cannot in good conscience take to the field and ignore the fact that millions of our compatriots are starving, unemployed and oppressed.

“We are aware that hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans may even die in the coming months through a combination of starvation and poverty and Aids.

“We have heard a torrent of racist hate speech directed at minority groups.”