HARARE, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The English county cricket team Derbyshire arrived in Harare on Monday for a three-week tour as part of their pre-season preparations for the 2020 County Championship.
Based mainly in the southern city of Bulawayo, Derbyshire will play two three-day matches, two 50-over matches and two T20s against local select teams.
It will be the first time in 23 years that an English country cricket team has toured Zimbabwe as relations between Zimbabwe and and Britain improve following the new administration's reengagement drive with the former colonial power.
Cricket relations had been strained by political differences between the two sides when Zimbabwe embarked on a land reform program that aimed at addressing colonial injustices by redistributing white owned farms to landless blacks.
England has not toured Zimbabwe since 2004 while Zimbabwe last visited UK in 2003 before the England Cricket Board officially cut ties with Zimbabwe Cricket in 2008.
The only time the two countries have played each other since 2004 was in the 2007 World T20 finals in South Africa when they were drawn in the same pool.
In 2008 Zimbabwe was forced to withdraw from the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 World Cup in England after the British government told the ICC they would not issue the Zimbabwean team visas to enter the U.K.
