JOHANNESBURG, March 22: The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Saturday that it would freeze US$3.5 million owed to England and US$2.5 million owed to New Zealand after they forfeited World Cup matches.

The world governing body’s executive board decided to hold back the money in case, as expected, sponsors and broadcasters demand compensation after the matches were called off.

That is likely to lead to legal battles to decide who should be held responsible.

England refused to play Zimbabwe in Harare in their Group ‘A’ match on Feb 13 while New Zealand refused to play Kenya in Group ‘B’ in Nairobi on Feb 21.

Both cited concerns over security but World Cup organisers refused to reschedule the games, saying their fears were unfounded.

All leading sides were due to earn $9 million from the ICC for taking part in the World Cup in South Africa.

England’s players refused to play in Zimbabwe after concerns that their matches could spark political protests by opposition parties opposed to President Robert Mugabe’s government. The players also received death threats if they played the game. South African police and security services said the threats were a hoax.

Zimbabwe’s opposition had opposed the staging of the World Cup matches, arguing they legitimised Mugabe’s rule during the country’s worst political and economic crisis in more than 20 years.

New Zealand concerns followed a suicide bombing on a Israeli-owned hotel in the tourist resort of Mombasa in November which left 16 dead.

Meanwhile, the ICC said that the World Cup had been untainted by match-fixing.

The sport’s world governing body said that Paul Condon, head of its anti-corruption unit, had reported that the tournament had been free of corruption.

ICC president Malcolm Gray said: “We can confidently say that the game is corruption free.”

Condon had forecast before the tournament that World Cup matches would not be affected by match-fixing.

His unit drew up a list of some 100 people who would be barred from South Africa if they tried to enter the country during the six-week event.

Former British police officer Condon was appointed as director of the anti-corruption unit three years ago following a huge match-fixing scandal.

Former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje, who died in a plane crash last year, was banned for life after admitting taking money from illegal bookmakers to influence international games.—Reuters