Prominent among these was the fact that a number of the countries already scheduled to take part in the competition "still have serious political reservations over travelling to, and hosting, Zimbabwe."
"[2] A re-formatting of the Intercontinental Cup took place, and Zimbabwe joined the top division of the competition,[3] into which they elected to enter an 'A' team, Ozias Bvute, Zimbabwe Cricket's chief executive explaining that "it was a chance to give up-and-coming and fringe players exposure to four-day cricket which they would otherwise not get.
[6] The hosts batted first in the opening match, reaching 313 largely due to a career-best score of 156 from Hamilton Masakadza.
In reply, Kenya did not form any significant partnerships due to the Zimbabweans bowlers taking regular wickets.
Kenya started well in their reply, with David Obuya scoring rapidly, but he dismissed for 49 by Graeme Cremer, who took his best figures in an ODI, finishing with six wickets.
Ray Price bowled economically for the hosts, conceding 22 runs in his nine overs, but Zimbabwe's reply was shaken early on when Mark Vermeulen and Charles Coventry were both dismissed cheaply.
[9] Kenya batted first again in the fourth ODI, and surpassed their total from the previous match, setting Zimbabwe 271 to win.