JOHANNESBURG (Reuters)
South Africa's cricket tour of Zimbabwe, currently gripped by a land grab crisis, is to go ahead next month. However, Gerald Majola, chief executive of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA), said the Zimbabwe situation would be monitored by the government.

"We have taken note of the concerns about the safety of South Africans in Zimbabwe," Majola said. "Minister Ngconde Balfour (the South African Minister of Sport) has assured us our government will take care of the Zimbabwe scenario and will ensure it's safe for our players to play there.

"At this stage, the Zimbabwe tour is on and will only be called off on the advice of either the Zimbabwe Cricket Union or the South African Government," he said.

Rushdi Magiet, the convenor of selectors, announced a Test squad of 13 players for the tour. Magiet added that two players - Justin Ontong and Jonty Rhodes - will join the squad after the two-Test series to take part in the one-day internationals.

Allan Donald has been included in the Test squad despite indicating earlier this year that he would in future prefer to be selected only for one-dayers, aligning himself with Rhodes in this respect. According to Magiet, Donald has "changed his mind" and has made himself available for Test cricket again. Majola stressed that while Donald and Rhodes had requested not to be selected for Tests, they were both contractually bound to agree to play if selected.

The three players who were not available for selection are Daryll Cullinan, Mfuneko Ngam and Nicky Boje. Cullinan is coaching English county Kent, and is carrying a knee injury, but has indicated to Majola he would like to renegotiate his national contract with the UCBSA. Ngam has a shoulder injury while Boje is also sidelined with a shoulder and knee injury.

The squad leave for Zimbabwe on September 5, and their itinerary includes two Tests from September 7-11 in Harare andSeptember 14-18 in Bulawayo, and three one-day internationals on September 23 in Bulawayo, and September 29 and 30 both in Harare.

Squad: Shaun Pollock (captain), Mark Boucher (vice-captain), Allan Donald, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Claude Henderson, Neil McKenzie, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini. Justin Ontong and Jonty Rhodes will be included in the squad for the one-dayers.

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