Zimbabwe's Bangladesh tour set to be extended

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh are set to add two unofficial Tests to the tour which starts next week, according to sources close to the Bangladesh board.

Sources in Dhaka told Cricinfo that the Zimbabwe board requested two four-day matches to be fitted in after completion of the original itinerary, which begins with a warm-up match in Dhaka on Saturday.

The Zimbabweans will then play a Twenty20 match on Monday in Khulna, the venue for the first of five ODI two days later. The rest of the original itinerary could, however, change to make space for the four-dayers without overly prolonging Zimbabwe's stay in Bangladesh.

Cricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent reports that the Zimbabwe board's cricket operations chief, Dave Everington, arrived in the country earlier this week to make final arrangements for the extended tour prior to the team's arrival on Thursday,.

Zimbabwe's Test exile is set to end next November with the Zimbabweans undertaking to arrange a number of three-day and four-day matches in preparation for their return.

Although the discussions to add the four-day matches on this tour have been at board-to-board level between the two countries, ICC president Percy Sonn and chief executive Malcolm Speed have also pledged to assist Zimbabwe engage strong A sides to polish up for their Test comeback.