LONDON, Feb 2: England player representatives will meet World Cup security consultants on Friday to discuss arrangements for their match in Zimbabwe, International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed said on Sunday.

The ICC decided to go ahead with six World Cup matches in Zimbabwe last Thursday despite concerns expressed by the England team about the political and security situation in the country.

“We’ve said, and arrangements are in place for this to happen, that on Friday of this week consultants will sit down with the England and Wales Cricket Board, their player representatives and whoever else they want to have there and work through the (security) plan with them,” Speed told BBC Radio.

“We don’t want copies of these reports widely disseminated because all that does is reduce the security that’s been put in place if all the details of the security plan is out and about.

“But certainly we are prepared to make those reports available in a confidential setting where the experts work these people through it. We’ve said that all along.”

England and Australia are worried about the deteriorating political situation in Zimbabwe following President Robert Mugabe’s controversial land reforms but neither country has requested that their matches be shifted. India, Pakistan, Namibia and Holland are also due to play in Zimbabwe.

“England has not asked to move the match, though they may do that, they may come to the event technical committee and ask them to move it,” Speed said. “We’ll respond to it when that happens. At the moment it’s speculative.

Meanwhile, Australian Cricket Board (ACB) officials will update their team this week on the security situation in Zimbabwe ahead of their World Cup match in Bulawayo.

On Sunday Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer said reports from his High Commission suggested that protesters would picket the match against Zimbabwe.

Downes expressed concern, based on the report, that the Zimbabwe police would react aggressively to protesters.—Reuters