3-mob.com 
Zimbabwe men’s national cricket team head coach Dave Houghton has laid out the conditions for any players based in England turning out for the Chevrons.
Answering a question from Australian media over whether Gary Ballance or any other Zimbabwean really were welcome, he said it was up to them.
On Ballance, he said, “I don’t think Gary would necessarily be against coming back to play for Zim, but he’s still gotta sort out things there in England. He’s still on a contract. I certainly think he’s still got another good eight or nine years in him so if he wanted to come back, we certainly wouldn’t turn him away.”
Ballance is a product of the Zimbabwe system and even turned out for the Under-19 team before choosing to don the England colours.
Pressed about other players like Ed Byrom and Nick Welch, Houghton said, “I think it has been made clear to everyone that if you wanna come and play for Zimbabwe you’re welcome to. But I don’t think it’s a case of us running around throwing contracts at guys we haven’t seen play for five years.
“Anybody who wants to come and play is welcome to join our domestic competition. If you play well enough then you can get selected,” he added.
Houghton’s position can be seen as a good look for Zimbabwe. They went down the route of throwing huge contracts at Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis before.
The key condition of having players turn out in the domestic league also increases the attractiveness of the local game. Seeing national team players in the Logan Cup, Pro50 Championship or the T20 provincial tournament generates further interest and grows the game. I
f players are simply airdropped for international matches it devalues the domestic game, especially at a time when other boards are heavily investing in the attractiveness of theirs.
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