Durban: The Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) held an emergency meeting on Thursday with a group of players who threatened to resign their contracts, with further discussions expected later in the day.

The group, which included most of Zimbabwe’s top players, met with ZCU managing director Vince Hogg in Harare on Thursday over issues similar to that which has sparked crisis meetings between Hogg and former captain Heath Streak.

“We told them we wanted to resign over Zimbabwe’s selection policies and the make-up of the selection panel, and we agreed to an emergency meeting,” a player who declined to be named said from Harare.

Hogg said the players had delegated Streak, Grant Flower, Andy Blignaut and a lawyer to represent them.

“I’ve had a meeting with a group of players, and ... they are meeting with us again this afternoon at 4.30pm (1430 GMT),” Hogg said from Harare. “We want to resolve all the issues, even if it takes all Easter weekend to do it.”

Hogg has been in talks with Streak since Tuesday after the ZCU said the pace bowler resigned the captaincy over similar issues at the weekend. Streak’s father, Denis, said his son did not resign.

Hogg said his meetings with Streak over the bowler’s own position were continuing. “That’s part of what we are discussing today.”

The meeting’s location in Harare is being kept secret. Hogg is seeing this as ominous. He said: “It is all very tense and volatile. I am very concerned about it. We are certainly in a crisis situation. I cannot stress too much the tensions here at the moment.”

It was Streak’s demand for changes to the national team selection panel that triggered the crisis. He wanted the removal of two blacks who had not played first class cricket, as well as a TV commentator of Asian origin. This has prompted allegations of racism against him.

The chairman of the ZCU board Peter Chingoka said: “There are two main issues before the players. The Streak situation and our integration policy.”

Zimbabwe are scheduled to host Sri Lanka, who arrive for a month’s Test and ODI tour on April 17.