Many people allege that the administration of cricket in Zimbabwe was corrupted by the influence of Robert Mugabe's government, who were widely accused of following racist, in particular anti-white, policies.
Along with this Zimbabwe gradually began to show encouraging signs of improvement and four years later they returned to the highest format of the game, Test Cricket.
In the event, only England refused to travel to Harare to play Zimbabwe after a vote by the players citing security concerns after death threats were received, thereby forfeiting the match.
Both players subsequently retired and emigrated from Zimbabwe, under intense political pressure, with the black Olonga being denounced as not really Zimbabwean as he was born in Zambia.
In 2004, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union sacked their white captain Heath Streak after he had confronted them with the team's grievances, several other players having also resigned by this time.
Fifteen senior players were involved in a stand-off over this and other selection issues, resulting in their dismissal from Zimbabwean cricket.
In August 2005, the New Zealand cricket team arrived in Zimbabwe to play two Test matches and duly won both by an innings with embarrassing ease.
However, the NZ government did have some fight in them because they effectively banned a return tour by refusing to issue visas to the Zimbabwean party.
There had been a brief reconciliation with some of the rebel players, Heath Streak and Andy Blignaut having played in some of the 2005 Tests, but then the Simmons affair sparked a wider mutiny under Taibu's leadership.
In October 2005, Streak announced his retirement from international cricket and indicated that he would concentrate on a county career with Warwickshire CCC in England.
For more information about the tours since 2005, see : The domestic game seemed to have all but deteriorated and hopes of a return to the promise that Zimbabwe showed in the 1990s looked to be forlorn.
Zimbabwe went on to beat a lacklustre Pakistan side in the second test match, sparking hopes of recovery for Zimbabwean cricket.
These hopes were short-lived as the pay dispute got intense in December 2013, when Zimbabwean players went on strike which led to a suspension of the four- and one-day tournaments that were underway.