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| February 5, 2003 | Wednesday | Zul Hijjah 3,1423 |
ECB wants Harare tie switched
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 4: England’s cricket board officially requested the team’s World Cup match against Zimbabwe to be switched to South Africa on Tuesday because of mounting concerns over security in the strife-torn country.
After weeks of hesitating, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) finally backed their players by calling on the ICC to move the Feb 13 game in Harare, threatening to throw the tournament into turmoil if Australia follow suit.
The ECB had previously turned down British government requests to boycott the match in protest at Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe but changed its mind after the players expressed safety concerns.
The ECB said in a statement that it would “be making a submission to the ICC World Cup technical committee to request that England’s match in Harare on February 13th be moved to South Africa for safety and security reasons”.
Captain Nasser Hussain and coach Duncan Fletcher backed the decision, the statement added.
Australia’s players could make a similar call after meeting Australia’s High Commissioner to Zimbabwe later on Tuesday to discuss security, which would leave the tournament in chaos just five days before Sunday’s opening game.
England’s request, prompted by social and political unrest in Zimbabwe, could be considered as early as Thursday by the six-man World Cup technical committee.
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said in a statement: “Prior to this request from the ECB, no country has sought a review of the ICC decision to stage games in Zimbabwe.”
Should it be rejected, England would forfeit the match, a move which would leave them with only a slim chance of reaching the next round.
Hussain said he hoped England could avoid losing points.
“There are a lot of legal people going into these meetings, nothing is definite at all,” he told a news conference.
The governments of Britain and Australia have both urged their teams to boycott Zimbabwe.
India and Pakistan say they are happy to go to Zimbabwe.
Tournament organisers and the ICC have maintained so far that it is safe to play in Zimbabwe and Kenya, warning that teams boycotting matches will face calls for significant compensation from sponsors.—Reuters
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