Aussies to reassess Cup match in Zimbabwe - Gilchrist

MELBOURNE, Jan 28 AAP - Adam Gilchrist says the Australian team will re-assess their attitude to playing its World Cup match in Zimbabwe in light of an appeal made by England players to have their match moved from Harare to South Africa.

After receiving the Australian international one-day player of the year award tonight, Gilchrist said there's "definitely" concerns over playing in Zimbabwe next month.

"We haven't really learnt too much more about the scenario since hearing what the English team have come out and said ...we'll assess that over the next few days," he said.

"It's really hard to comment because we're trying to learn and be informed about what the scenario is ...

"We'll learn a bit more about it but I think it's fair to say that there's enough interest in it and enough concern from the player group to warrant assessing it again."

But Gilchrist denied that the team didn't want to travel to Zimbabwe.

"That doesn't mean the players are standing up and saying 'we're not going' and it doesn't mean that everyone is totally happy with it," he said.

"We'll assess it over the next few days and learn a bit more about it.

"I don't know of anyone who's stood up and said 'I'm definitely not going' but, as I say, there's definitely concerns there, and enough concerns to warrant investigating the scenario a little bit further."

Gilchrist's comments came after England's Professional Cricketers' Association made an "urgent request" on behalf of the England players in London for their match against Zimbabwe on February 13 to be shifted from Harare to South Africa.

It followed warnings received from Zimbabwean activists to the England team in Australia and reports that opposition groups would use the England match to demonstrate against President Robert Mugabe's regime.

However, Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive James Sutherland said he'd learned of no new security risk which would prevent the Australian team playing its match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on February 24.

"As far as we can gather in the reports that we've had, there's no material change in the conditions that we found when we had the security delegation there in late November," Sutherland told ABC Radio today.

"I was a part of that with (Australian Cricketers' Association chief) Tim May, but at the same time we continue to monitor that."

The Australian Cricketers' Association was in talks today and was expected to comment further on the issue tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) remained adamant that the six World Cup matches scheduled for Zimbabwe next month would proceed.

The England team statement in London today came amid reports of escalating political violence and food shortages across Zimbabwe.

The England players stopped short of threatening to boycott their match but said proceeding with it in Harare could have serious consequences.

"We are all greatly concerned about the moral, political and safety issues that the fixture in Zimbabwe has raised. We strongly feel a fresh review should take place immediately," the players said.

"There are many difficult decisions to be made in life, and in this case the consequences could be very severe for all concerned, including players, the ECB, the game of cricket in the UK, the rest of the cricket playing world, and, perhaps more significantly, for Zimbabwe cricket and the people of Zimbabwe."

Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) managing director Richard Bevan said British government officials last week warned the England and Wales Cricket Board and PCA representatives that the situation in Zimbabwe was highly volatile.

A government office had been firebombed, the mayor of Harare had warned that he could not guarantee security and Zimbabwean police had reportedly found an opposition arms cache allegedly for use against England cricketers, he said.

The ICC's Australian chief executive Malcolm Speed insisted there was no security-based reason to move the games and that it was not the ICC's role to take a moral stand.

He insisted that calls for the ICC to pull out of Zimbabwe in protest at the human rights abuses of President Robert Mugabe were misplaced.

"The ICC is an international sporting organisation with 84 members with a variety of cultures, beliefs and political systems," said Speed.

"Its members are in place to make judgments on cricket administration and not to take a political stance on foreign policy issues.

"This is the role and responsibility of governments."

Speed will meet Bevan and ECB chief executive Tim Lamb on Thursday to discuss the players' request.

Meanwhile, the situation could change at late notice, with World Cup organisers saying there was no logistical impediment to moving the games at short notice.