Interview by Steve Vickers

Hopes have increased of a solution to the crisis that began last April when 15 white players went on strike and were subsequently fired by Zimbabwe Cricket.

Grant Flower has played 67 Tests and 219 one-day internationals

An independent committee, set up by ZC, has begun talks with the 13 remaining 'rebels', eight of whom attended an initial meeting and agreed to play league cricket as a sign of goodwill.

With the next round of talks scheduled for early February, batsman Grant Flower explained the latest situation.

Q. Why did you agree to go into the talks?

A. We're being open-minded, we heard that there might be some changes within the board and to the panel of selectors, which is what we wanted in the first place when the saga started.

So the guys think that if something can be done then they're willing to come back and play.

Q. Which players are involved?

Zimbabwe crisis timeline

There's myself, Heath Streak, Stuart Carlisle, Ray Price, Craig Wishart, Andy Blignaut, Trevor Gripper and Neil Ferreira.

Some players are overseas, like Travis Friend and Richard Sims. They're not involved, but they might still have an interest.

Q. Has anything really changed since the middle of last year when things broke down between ZC and the players?

A. Well, ZC have had a few problems regarding their own structure, and there's been a bit of in-house fighting.

I think that with the South Africa tour looming, they might be a bit worried about the results, and I think that's probably why the committee was formed.

Q. So are your demands still the same?

I can't make anything public at this stage.

All I can say is that it looks promising and some positive things might come out of it.

Tatenda Taibu succeeded Streak as Zimbabwe captain

Q. But do the demands about the captaincy returning to Heath Streak and changes to the panel of selectors still stand?

I don't think the captaincy will change, but hopefully maybe some people on the selection panel might change, and one or two board members as well.

I think the forming of this committee sends a message in itself that ZC is more concilatiory.

Q. How do you feel about the performances of the current team?

A. Well, I think they've done reasonably well against Bangladesh, considering the experience that they have, but there are bigger tests ahead with South Africa coming up.

Q. So in principle, would you all be ready to play against South Africa if things were solved with ZC?

A. No. I don't think anyone would be prepared enough for a full Test series, especially against South Africa, even Heath. So it would have to be later in the year.

Q. Things seem to have worked out well for you with joining Essex, but how tough has it been financially for most of the the fired players?

The guys have been struggling, they've tried to make a plan, they got jobs, or played cricket somewhere or did some coaching.

We were well-paid by ZC and it was one of the sacrifices we made. For me, it's a bonus after playing for your country for 15 years to get a county contract in England.

Streak is one of the players with an overseas contract

Q. Would returning to play for Zimbabwe affect your deal with Essex?

A. Well, I couldn't return at the moment, and it's the same for Ray Price at Worcestershire.

We're on Kolpak agreements, which don't allow us to play international cricket at all, so for the two of us, it would have to be at the end of our two-year contracts. But Heath's in a different situation with Warwickshire.

Q. Finally, what are your reflections on how things have moved on since last April when the crisis began?

Look, what happened is still very upsetting, I don't think any of us are happy with the outcome.

We'd still love to play for our country, so we just pray that things can be sorted out. Everyone's missing playing Test cricket and one-day internationals.