England to play Zimbabwe World Cup fixture

The management committee of the England & Wales Cricket Board has decided to go ahead with England's World Cup match in Zimbabwe next month, despite pressure from the UK government to pull out of it.

The decision, which was announced at a delayed media briefing at Lord's this afternoon, was not unexpected. The ECB chief executive Tim Lamb explained: "It was a very detailed and thorough meeting - and all the issues were fully debated and considered.

"The ECB management board have been confronted with an extremely difficult situation not of their own making. The position has been totally clear and consistent. We are not a political body and don't take decisions on that basis.

"We're not immune to, or unaware of what's happening in the wider world - but that is not to say we don't care about these issues. We're fully aware of what's happening in Zimbabwe and don't condone or endorse the actions of the current political regime in that country.

"However we don't believe the cancellation of one cricket match will make the slightest bit of difference to the Mugabe regime. Sport sadly is being used as a political tool to fill the policy vacuum that exists.

"The ECB management board this morning decided we are going to honour our commitment to play in Harare on February 13 - in fact the decision of the board was unanimous.

Lamb also had some critical words for the UK Government, adding: "I find it rather perverse and inequitable that cricket has been singled out in this way. There is no other body or company which has been asked to take the decision we have. I find it bizarre and extremely unfair.

"The ECB are a non-profit-making organisation which put every penny of surplus back into the game. We honestly don't believe it is fair for us to take a financial hit which could actually threaten the future of the game in this country.

"Sport is a business and we are a company. We have signed a commercial contract for a multi-million-pound event, we can't just say we are not going to turn up. This could have lasting damaging effects for cricket in the country."

Mike Soper, the ECB's deputy chairman and chairman of the First Class Forum, warned that any boycott would have caused lasting damage to the future of the game.

"I totally agree with the moral point of what we should do and what we shouldn't do," Soper said. "But once you move on to the next moral point that will leave us with a contractual disaster for cricket.

"I care passionately about first-class cricket and youth cricket and that would rip it up."

The ECB Chairman, David Morgan, said he expected England's players to be willing to abide by the ECB's decision.

"The distinct impression that I have is that the players will follow the edict of the ECB management board," Morgan told the BBC.

As things stand, the only thing that can prevent the match from being played is a deterioration in the security situation in Zimbabwe, which would prompt the International Cricket Council to move the matches elsewhere. Following recent riots in Harare, the ICC has set up a committee to monitor the situation.

Announcement of the decision was made later than planned, after a group of nine protestors led by rights campaigner Peter Tatchell burst into Lord's while the board meeting was taking place.

The group included representatives of organisations such as the Zimbabwe Association, which campaigns for Zimbabwean asylum seekers in Britain, the Save Zimbabwe campaign, and another group entitled "Organised Resistance, Zimbabwe".

There were scuffles with security officers before the demonstration moved to the Indoor Cricket School, where journalists and cameramen were gathered in readiness for the ECB media briefing.

An ambulance was called after a Zimbabwean woman claiming to be a victim of the Mugabe regime collapsed as she was beginning a television interview.

The Government tonight expressed disappointment at the ECB's decision. A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "Of course this was a tough call for the ECB to make, but we still believe Government's position was the right one.

"However, as we've said all along this was the ECB's decision. We are also glad that the ECB have made it clear that England's players will do nothing to take part in Mugabe's propaganda. Of course we will be advising them on this, as well as on security and safety issues."