By Thrasy Petropoulos BBC Sport Chester-le-Street

Tatenda Taibu showed more steel than some Zimbabweans

When they first looked over their tour itinerary, the Zimbabweans would have seen the visit to Belfast and Londonderry immediately after the Test series as a chance to get involved in some traditional Irish hospitality.

In the circumstances, however, their trip could prove more damaging than the pasting suffered at England's hands.

Should they trip up in two one-day matches against Ireland, their return to England for the triangular series with South Africa will doubtless be greeted with calls to have them demoted to a second tier of international cricket.

Already there has been talk of a two-division Test championship, with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe being joined by Kenya and one member of the top eight nations relegated annually.

And for Zimbabwe to lose to Ireland, an associate member of the ICC, would strengthen the campaign.

Certainly, they did themselves no favours during the two-match Test series against England.

Test report: England seal series

To twice lose by an innings was one thing.

But to have collapsed so spinelessly in both matches, losing 19 wickets in a day at Lord's and 11 in less than three-and-a-half hours on the second day at Chester-le-Street was worse than even their harshest critics could have predicted.

After a lengthy rest from Test cricket, Zimbabwe next take on the West Indies at home in October followed by Australia away in November.

Should they be humbled once again - and against Australia there is the potential for utter humiliation - the argument that Zimbabwe should not be competing as a full Test nation could gather unstoppable momentum.

Streak's team have lost the last nine Test matches

That Bangladesh are likely to be similarly disgraced by Australia, whom they play later this summer, will only fan the flames.

Zimbabwe are pressing hard to take Bangladesh's current record of 11 successive Test defeats, with Chester-le-Street representing their ninth in succession.

Just as it is hard not to feel sorry for Bangladesh for having been promoted to Test status before their time, it is equally hard to not sympathise with Zimbabwe.

Shorn of their best cricketers through disaffection with the troubled country or the Zimbabwe Cricket Union's "goals of integration", they have been fielding a virtual 2nd XI against England.

Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson fled long ago but the recent loss of Andy Flower and, to a lesser degree, Henry Olonga was always likely to leave an unfillable hole.

The list of other dropped or lost Zimbabwean cricketers is a long one: Alistair Campbell, Trevor Gripper, Brian Murphy, Bryan Strang, Craig Wishart, Dirk Viljoen and Guy Whittall.

And that is before the inevitable lost talent from emigrating Zimbabweans, such as 21-year-old Essex left-armer Scott Brant, is even considered.

Neil Johnson's words to the BBC Sport website during the World Cup may have been premature but they are still worth heeding.

"There have been some pretty high profile cricketers leaving recently, including myself," he said at the time.

"There is a serious danger that Zimbabwe cricket will just fade away now."