Zimbabwe's former skipper Andy Flower could still play cricket for his native country.
Zimbabwe Cricket Union managing director Vince Hogg revealed that the ace batsman has been offered an extra contract by the association.
"We have offered him an extra contract. If he wants he can come back to play for Zimbabwe. The loss of Andy Flower has been huge for Zimbabwe cricket," Hogg told rediff.com
Currently playing for the English county Essex, Flower quit international cricket after the World Cup in South Africa earlier this year.
He and teammate Henry Olonga had donned black armbands in their opening match against Namibia to mark what they described as the death of democracy in Zimbabwe.
Hogg clarified that Olonga was not dropped from the World Cup squad for wearing the black armband. "Olonga was not picked in the playing eleven strictly for cricket reasons," he claimed.
Both Flower and Olonga fled the country after the World Cup fearing danger to their lives.
Hogg said co-hosting the World Cup with South Africa and Kenya had benefited Zimbabwe hugely.
"India playing in Zimbabwe as part of their World Cup campaign drew huge interest from around the world," he said. "There is a huge fan base for India. The World Cup did great things for Zimbabwe cricket. It made facilities better for Test cricket. We can now host world-class cricket in Zimbabwe. There are young, black guys playing in the streets and in townships. We have increased the base of players."
Agreeing that England's decision to skip its World Cup game in Zimbabwe drew more mileage than it deserved, he said that is an issue for the rest of the world to discuss.
"England, Australia and India slated for Zimbabwe was big for us," Hogg said. "It had a very positive impact that two of them came.
"England skipping the game was disappointing. We were upset about that. We gave all the assurances, gave them all the security, went out of the way with the backing of our authorities, but to no avail. They should have come. It was their decision though."
On a positive note, he applauded the cricket academy for helping youngsters, saying: "The next 18 months will be interesting to observe the development of five or six players."
He explained the debacle of the England tour saying Zimbabwe played in May when conditions were very difficult, while South Africa played in July.
Soccer, he admitted, is still the number one game in Zimbabwe. "A huge population plays soccer, but we [cricket] are number two."
As a white man managing Zimbabwe cricket, Hogg refused to make any political statements.
He remembered Kapil Dev's great knock against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup, saying it was the greatest innings he had ever seen.
"We couldn't believe it!" he said. "India were 17 for 5 and we had already beaten the Australians. It was surreal. Our team was a unique blend of players, led by the great leader Duncan Fletcher."
