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| February 16, 2003 | Sunday | Zul Hijjah 14, 1423 |
England’s loss is Zimbabwe’s gain
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 15: Cricket finally took centre stage from its administrators on Saturday when the World Cup technical committee awarded England’s Group ‘A’ match in Zimbabwe to the hosts, thus ending a long-running battle of wills.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected England’s request to switch their Harare game to South Africa, ruling that the venue was safe despite the team’s security concerns and awarding the points to Zimbabwe.
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told a news conference: “It’s a decision that gives the committee no pleasure.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided not to appeal against the decision, bringing an end to months of wrangling involving politicians, administrators and players.
“After careful consideration the ECB has decided not to appeal,” ECB chief executive Tim Lamb said. “We have done everything in our power to persuade the ICC of the merits of our case. The issue has gone on long enough and it’s time to move on in the interests of the cricket World Cup.”
Lamb described the weeks of wrangling over the match scheduled for Feb 13 in Harare as a “protracted and unfortunate episode”, but suggested that the English ruling body could still resort to legal action.
“The ECB does not agree with the decision of the technical committee and have been advised by our lawyers that the decision is legally incorrect,” Lamb said.
Nasser Hussain, however, said he would reassess his position as England captain at the end of the World Cup, having lost faith in cricket’s governing bodies. He added he did not think the ICC had taken England’s security concerns seriously enough.
“It makes me think more about my long-term future as captain after the tournament,” he told a news conference in East London.
“I have seen a group of players whose World Cup dream has been shattered by politics but should have been seen six months ago by people at the ICC. The authorities have fudged the issue.
“I believe that this group of cricketers given the wranglings between Britain and Zimbabwe have been let down by the ICC.”
England may face calls for millions of dollars in compensation from sponsors for refusing to play in Harare.
“I don’t expect a quick resolution, not before May or June and certainly not before the end of the World Cup,” Speed said.
“If they (the ECB) wanted to bring it to a civil court they could do but that it is not something that concerns us.”
The England team have yet to play a game in the tournament, spending more time discussing whether to play in Zimbabwe than training.
Many of their rivals have already played twice. England open their campaign against Holland in East London on Sunday.
The loss of the four points, from a game England expected to win, means the team face a huge task to reach the second round of the tournament.
They will have to beat at least two of defending champions Australia, 1999 finalists Pakistan and 1983 winners India to have any chance of qualifying.
This was England’s second attempt to have the game moved.
The same committee threw out England’s first request, a decision ratified by an ICC-appointed judge, last week in a supposedly binding decision.
But the ECB continued to argue and eventually pulled out of the match, saying they had received new information regarding death threats sent to the team and their families.
That prompted the ICC to grant them a second hearing.
Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) chairman Peter Chingoka said: “We are delighted. This puts the matter to rest and we can now focus on the tournament.”—Reuters
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