LONDON, June 11: Andrew Strauss hinted England’s top players would consider pulling out of their country’s matches against Zimbabwe next year if Robert Mugabe remains in power.

Zimbabwe are due to play three One-day Internationals in England in 2009, but opposition to Mugabe is strong and Strauss conceded he and his team-mates will be left with a difficult decision if the matches remain on their fixture list.

England were forced to pay compensation to Zimbabwe in 2004 after cancelling a Test tour to the country in 2004 and also refusing to play a World Cup match against the national team the previous year.

Now Middlesex opener Strauss has made it clear that if England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) or the British Government don’t step in to make a clear directive about playing Zimbabwe, then the England squad will make individual moral judgements.

“In the past there have been chances to show the strength of feeling here and the government chose not to,” Strauss, speaking at a ‘Spirit of Cricket’ event at Lord’s, said.

“If it comes down to players to do that we’ll definitely have to look at it. There’s a sense that we’ve been left in the lurch before. There’s a great sense among the general population that our last tour to Zimbabwe shouldn’t have gone ahead,” he added.

“It has come down to a certain extent to personal preference and there have been some tough decisions made in previous tours. When we come round to the issue again we all hope that the political situation in Zimbabwe is very different,” Strauss stated.

“But if it isn’t there are going to be more very difficult decisions to be made.”—AFP