National team coach Geoff Marsh arrived back in the country on 8 April and he would have, as of last month, started preparations for the much-awaited home series against current world Test and one-day champions Australia. Marsh had made a stopover in Australia after Zimbabwe's tour of India in March.

However, the tour, which would have seen the Aussies arriving in Zimbabwe on 11 April, was cancelled by the Australian Cricket Board, who cited security concerns. Marsh, a former Australian cricketer and national coach, is disappointed that the tour was cancelled at the last minute.

"It's disappointing that Australia are not coming for the Test and one-day series. I think that everyone in Zimbabwe was looking forward to plying against the best side in the world. Certainly their (Australia's) performances in South Africa have been outstanding and it would have been a great challenge for our players to play against Australia but, unfortunately, the tour has been cancelled.

"The good thing is that we will be able to play them within the next two years and it's something to look forward to. Great players like Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath will definitely still be around because I think they still have a lot of cricket in them. Hopefully they won't get any better by that time."

Marsh does not expect Australia to refuse playing their World Cup Group 1 match against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club in February. "The chances of them coming are very good. I don't think there will be problems and everyone in Zimbabwe has to start looking forward to the World Cup, especially that we will be staging six games here in Zimbabwe.

"I know the national team players are looking forward to the winter break and getting themselves focused, fit and raring to go for the World Cup. First we have the ICC Mini World Cup in September prior to that and it will be a big build-up to next year's event.

"Quite a few of the players will be going to play winter cricket in England. The Zimbabwe cricket team has had a busy 12 months and I think that some of the players need rest. One of the things in cricket is that it's difficult to get yourself fit in a cricket season so for some players it's important that they spend time working on their fitness and getting themselves in good physical condition for the cricket coming up over the next couple of years.

He added that he was impressed with the team's performance in India, especially in the five-match one-day series. "We played some very good cricket and I thought that the fourth game was there for us to clinch the series three-one. We made 240 and had them three down for just over 50, but they then put up a good partnership, which we just couldn't break.

"The guys played well and really wanted to win the series. We played some good one-day cricket, which was pleasing from my point of view given the important one-day matches coming up over the next 12 months."

Following the cancellation of the Australian tour, Marsh will return to his home in Australia at the end of April and then return in July/ August to start preparations for next season, which starts with the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September.

© Cricinfo