Former skipper fears Zimbabwe may struggle against Irish

LONDON, Mar 12 (Reuters) Former Zimbabwe skipper Andy Flower fears they will struggle to beat amateurs Ireland at the World Cup because of so many exits of star players.

Flower, 38, retired from international cricket after the last World Cup when he and black team mate Henry Olonga staged a protest against the Zimbabwe government by wearing black armbands.

He then fled to England to live, fearing recriminations for his actions. He has since played for county side Essex and is now with them on a pre-season trip to Dubai.

''There is some talent in the Zimbabwe team but they are very inexperienced at that level and they're really going to struggle in the World Cup,'' Flower told Reuters earlier this week.

A slew of key players followed Flower and Olonga into international retirement, because of a combination of internal cricket board politics and government policies.

''I don't like saying these things but that's what happens when the best players are no longer around. They will even find it a difficult game against Ireland.'' 'GREAT PITY' Flower is in no doubt that that if the players from 2003 were still together and backed by a supportive cricket board, the team would be able to stage one or two upsets.

''I wish everyone was still playing,'' Flower said. ''We should still be playing and it's a great pity that we're not but sadly it's unavoidable the way things are.

''There's no doubt that we could still be competitive. We would be a very experienced team by now.

''We wouldn't have had the turnover of personnel like other teams have had because our pool of players is that much less.

''With that experience we would also have filtered in some youth and by now we could have had a nice balance but the way it is there is no balance, just youth.'' Zimbabwe surprised the pundits and the bookmakers by reaching the Super Six stage of the last two World Cups in England in 1999 and South Africa in 2003.

Possibly saddest of all the retirements was the decision of talented wicketkeeper-batsman Tatenda Taibu to quit aged 21 in November 2005 because of alleged non-payment of fees from Zimbabwe Cricket.

The team now is led by Prosper Utseya, who is 21 with 59 one-day internationals and one Test match to his credit.

His appointment as skipper reflects the unfortunate position of cricket in Zimbabwe rather than any outstanding credentials. He has 37 one-day wickets and an average of 54.29.

Zimbabwe play their first match in Group D against Ireland on Thursday in Jamaica. Pakistan and hosts West Indies are the other sides in the group.

REUTERS DH PM1325