Stephen Fleming: captain on a tour mired in contoversey © AFP Enlarge

New Zealand have left for Zimbabwe to play a two-Test series despite strong opposition to the tour because of the president Robert Mugabe's campaign to demolish urban slums, leaving thousands homeless. According to polls, most New Zealanders are opposed to the tour because of the human rights violations in the country.

Rod Donald, the New Zealand Green Party co-leader who has been leading a campaign to prevent the tour, said on Monday the trip could be prevented. "Our government could still find the courage to stop the tour," he told AFP. "There is also the prospect that the fuel and food shortages in Zimbabwe will deteriorate to such a point that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will decide that it's unsafe for our team to be there anyway."

The New Zealand government had asked the ICC to allow NZC to cancel the tour without facing a fine of US$2 million and being liable to compensate Zimbabwe for lost revenue. The ICC said NZC could refuse to play without penalty only if the government made it illegal to tour Zimbabwe. However, Phil Goff, the foreign minister, said the government was not willing to restrict its citizens from travelling overseas. NZC then said that it could prevent the tour if the security of the players was threatened.

New Zealand will train and play warm-up matches in Namibia before arriving in Zimbabwe on August 4. They will also feature in a triangular one-day tournament involving India and Zimbabwe.