Sussex batsman Murray Goodwin has slammed the state of cricket in his native Zimbabwe.

Goodwin averaged 43 from 13 Tests and played in 71 one-day matches for Zimbabwe before retiring from the international arena three years ago.

The 30-year-old, currently starring for Western Australia, was invited to return and play in the World Cup during a recent trip to Harare, but declined.

He said the reason was because he feels the Zimbabwe Cricket Union remains an unprofessional, racist body he wanted to get away from.

Goodwin said: "I considered it for a brief moment but basically I said no in the end.

"I wanted to see what the professionalism was like and see if things had improved. It (the game) is still struggling and a lot to do with that is the way it's run. It's very political and very racist."

Goodwin says the ZCU replicates the pro-black policies of the Robert Mugabe regime, to the detriment of the game there.

He said: "There are black administrators now pushing the blacks to get through.

"They don't want it to be a predominantly white sport but the good players are predominantly white at the moment. That's why it's in turmoil."

Cricket chiefs meet tomorrow to decide whether England will play their controversial World Cup match against Zimbabwe on February 13.