ECB denies 'gagging' players on Zimbabwe issue

The ECB has denied reports that some of the England players have already pulled out of their one-day tour of Zimbabwe, which is due to take place in November.

England were originally scheduled to play a two-Test series as well as the one-dayers, but Zimbabwe's Test status has been put on hold for the rest of this year in the wake of the dispute with their leading players, which has severely weakened their team. However, the ECB recently agreed to play five one-dayers - one extra than originally planned - but it may have trouble persuading some of the players to go.

An article in yesterday's News of The World said that seven leading players, including Andrew Flintoff and Stephen Harmison, had already decided they wouldn't tour Zimbabwe on moral grounds, but had been ordered by the ECB to keep quiet on the matter. Richard Bevan, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA), was quoted as saying: "We've not agreed to gag players, although my advice is it would be inappropriate to comment while the situation is being dealt with by the ICC."

But the ECB responded to the article by saying: "The players have not been gagged as the newspaper suggests ... Both the ECB and the players' own representatives have asked the players to delay making any decision."

The ECB also promised to give the players as much information as possible before they made their decision on whether to tour or not. David Morgan, the ECB's chairman, has already insisted that the players will not be forced to go.