Zimbabwe stalemate

Hussain demands decision in World Cup row

Nasser Hussain: "My view has got to be dictated by what people tell me." Tom Shaw/Getty Images

LONDON (AP) -- England cricket captain Nasser Hussain is gettting fed up as officials keep bickering over whether the team should boycott next month's World Cup game in Zimbabwe.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other government officials have urged the team to pull out of the Feb. 13 match because of the human rights record of President Robert Mugabe's government.

The England Cricket Board says it can't afford to do that for fear of legal reprisals -- and is pressing the government for financial compensation.

Discussions between the government and the ECB reached a stalemate Thursday. The government rejected any compensation claim and reiterated the ultimate decision was up to the ECB.

The ICC reiterated Friday that it would not move any games out of Zimbabwe unless there were security or safety issues.

Hussain said he's frustrated at the continuing uncertainty and urged the goverment and ECB to "stop faffing around and start making decisions."

"My view has to be dictated by what people tell me," Hussain said Friday in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"At the moment you can read a newspaper article one day and you end up reading it saying yes, we should go. Then you read someone else the next day, in The (Daily) Telegraph or something, and you think possibly you shouldn't.

"I just want to be guided by people who know the situation there, people who know what the right thing is and just tell our team -- some young lads in our team -- tell us whether we are going to Zimbabwe or not."

Of the six countries to play in Zimbabwe during the two-month World Cup, to be hosted mainly in South Africa, only Australia has expressed similar concerns.

ICC president Malcolm Gray said in Hobart, Australia, that playing in Zimbabwe wouldn't tarnish the tournament. He said the ICC was "duty-bound" to support Zimbabwe as a full member.

"Our position is a relatively simple position; we have the ability, the confidence and responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the players, the officials and people attending the matches," Gray said.

Gray said the ICC did not have the "confidence, ability or mandate" to make political judgments on Zimbabwe.

"You have to remember the ICC is a classic international body made up of 85 member countries and they have very diverse political, religious and cultural backgrounds," Gray said. "They will have different views as to the various regimes in various countries."

World Cup director Ali Bacher said he considered it an "unlikely possibility" that England would not play in Zimbabwe given there were no sporting sanctions.

He said no players would be placed in the diplomatic dilemma of shaking Mugabe's hand.

"From the organizing committee point of view, the only president who will be asked to be on the field of play or at the conclusion of a day's play will be (South Africa) President Thabo Mbeki. He will on Feb. 8 at the end of the opening ceremony in Cape Town officially open the World Cup," Bacher said.

"He will not be asked -- this has been a politics decision -- to shake the hands of any of the competing teams or players."

Hussain had said that if England goes ahead with the match, he didn't know whether he should shake hands with Mugabe.

Tim Lamb, chief executive of the England Cricket Board, complained Thursday that the British government had only recently suggested that the team should not play in Zimbabwe.

"Only at the 59th minute of the 11th hour have they told us what their view is on this. At no stage until mid-December did the government make clear that they were disapproving of our playing in this match.

"We have signed legal contracts and if we breach those contracts, it could have a severe financial detrimental effect on English cricket and the fabric of the game in England and Wales," Lamb said.

The Foreign Office, however, released minutes of a July meeting to back its claims that the issue was raised months ago, advising the ECB that the government "might well find it difficult to accept that an England cricket team should play in Zimbabwe."

ICC to send inspectors to Kenya ahead of World Cup

LONDON (AP) -- Concerned by the terrorist attacks in Kenya six weeks ago, cricket's world governing body is sending a delegation to Nairobi to inspect security arrangements for next month's World Cup matches.

The International Cricket Council said the inspectors will arrive Monday to "ensure that any real or perceived security concerns held by the countries playing in Kenya are identified and addressed."

Two games are to be played at Nairobi's Gymkhana Club -- Kenya vs. New Zealand on Feb. 21, and Kenya vs. Sri Lanka on Feb. 24.

"Questions have been raised about the safety and security of Kenya following the terrorist attacks on Nov. 28 in Mombassa and it is important that we address those concerns," ICC president Malcolm Gray said.

Eleven Kenyans, three Israelis and at least two bombers died when terrorists attacked a hotel in Mombassa. Terrorists also fired shoulder-fired missiles at an Israeli airliner.

After next week's ICC visit, the delegation will submit a report to a committee which will decide on "the appropriate course of action" regarding the two matches in Nairobi.

 

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