No-win situation

ECB to discuss Zimbabwe with British government

LONDON (Reuters) -- The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is in a no-win situation when it meets with the British government Thursday to discuss England's participation in a World Cup match in Zimbabwe.

If the ECB agrees with the government and boycotts the February 13 game in Harare England will forfeit two points and lose millions of pounds. But if it chooses to play the game it could be accused of endorsing Robert Mugabe's leadership.

The ECB has been put under increasing pressure to boycott the match following Mugabe's controversial land reform programme, his hardline tactics against opponents during his March re-election victory and food shortages that have left his country close to starvation.

Several England players and ECB officials have said that if the decision to boycott the Zimbabwe game is a political one then it should be taken by the government, not a sporting body.

But while the British government has said it is strongly opposed to England playing in Harare, it has also maintained that it cannot make the final decision.

"We cannot order the ECB not to go to Zimbabwe, but we have asked them not to," Foreign Office minister Mike O'Brien said in a statement. "The final decision must rest with them.

Dire circumstances

"Our opinion is clear. Given the abuse of human rights and the dire circumstances of the people of Zimbabwe, it would be wrong to play a game of cricket there."

The International Cricket Council (ICC) says it has a contingency plan to move games away from Zimbabwe, almost certainly to South Africa, but still intends to play there after an inspection of the country said players would be safe.

The government will be represented by Sports Minister Tessa Jowell and Foreign Office Minister Baroness Amos in Thursday's meeting.

Zimbabwe is scheduled to host six of the 54 matches in the World Cup which is staged in southern Africa from February 9 to March 23.Australia, India, Pakistan, Namibia and the Netherlands are also scheduled to play in Zimbabwe.

ICC president Malcolm Gray has said England would face a one million pound (US$1.60 million) bill if it does not play the fixture and the financial cost could mount if the Zimbabwean team choses to pull out of a planned England tour next year.

The ECB has said it wants a decision from the government and will press for compensation if it meets the government's wish to boycott the game.

"We wish to discuss a wide range of issues with the government, including compensation," an ECB spokesman said. "But it is important to retain a good working relationship with the government and the agencies that they support."

Final say

The ECB said that if a firm decision is not made at Thursday's meeting, a 15-man ECB management board would have the final say.

The ICC has steadfastly defended its decision to stage the matches in Zimbabwe despite the deteriorating political and economic situation there.

"In administering cricket we can't take into account whether one government has a bad relationship with another government," ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said. "We can't be swayed by these sorts of considerations.

"We can only make our decision based on cricketing considerations and sporting considerations. We have 84 member countries that have come under all sorts of political regimes."

Of the other five countries scheduled to play in Zimbabwe, only the Australian government has spoken out against playing there and said it would consider contributing to the cost of switching the games.

Both India and Pakistan said they had no problems about playing in Zimbabwe.

Speed has said that any teams refusing to play in Zimbabwe because of safety concerns could get a special dispensation from the ICC under which teams could share match points with Zimbabwe even if they did not turn up.

"Each request would be looked at on an individual basis," an ICC spokesman said this week.

"If there was a serious deterioration in safety then that would affect all the teams but if one team pulls out and the others agree to go then that would be a different matter.

"That governing body would need to justify their decision."

 

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