Cricket's powerbrokers will decide on Friday if Australia will play Zimbabwe in the scheduled series and whether those matches should have Test status.

Zimbabwe's rebel cricketers conceded their dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) was over and gave up on trying to have their grievances over selection policies resolved.

With the 15 rebels unlikely to play for their country again, Zimbabwe will name a second-string side to play Australia in the first Test, starting Saturday.

But whether that match - and another in Bulawayo starting May 29 - goes ahead and whether it should be classified as a Test remained unclear.

The International Cricket Council will hold a telephone hook-up of the presidents of the 10 member countries on Friday to discuss the issue.

The ZCU board could ward off that meeting if it decides to beforehand to cancel the matches and replace them with one-day matches.

If the proposed matches are stripped of Test status, it will be because world cricket cannot afford more embarrassingly lopsided results.

But if the matches are stripped of Test status, Australia is likely to object to playing them and instead push for more one-dayers.

Three one-day matches have already been scheduled for this tour.

If the Tests are cancelled, Australia will seek a guarantee that it does not have to tour Zimbabwe again to play the Tests despite the ICC's rule that all Test-playing nations must play each other home and away twice over a 10-year period.

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