England draw Zimbabwe in Champions Trophy

As if they needed any reminder of their current predicament, England have been drawn to face Zimbabwe in the opening match of this summer's ICC Champions Trophy, at Edgbaston on September 10.

But where England and Zimbabwe are concerned these days, nothing can be taken for granted. The match is scheduled to take place a matter of weeks before England themselves fly out to Zimbabwe for a full Test tour, but that trip is in doubt because of Britain's opposition to Robert Mugabe's disgraced regime. In turn, the ICC have the right to withdraw the Champions' Trophy from England, and may choose to do so at a meeting of the ten board chairmen in Auckland next month.

Although Zimbabwe's visit to England passed without incident last summer, the same cannot be said of the last time the two teams were scheduled to face each other in an official ICC event. In February 2003, England withdrew from their opening fixture of the 2003 World Cup, after a player-led boycott, a decision that may cost the ECB upwards of £2 million.

England versus Zimbabwe is the match with an added frisson, but other notable fixtures include England's second group match against Sri Lanka at The Rose Bowl on September 17, and India against Pakistan at Edgbaston two days later. The final is scheduled for The Oval on Saturday, September 25, England's late-summer weather permitting, of course. Fortunately, reserve days have been allocated for all matches, to reduce the need for Duckworth/Lewis calculations in the event of rain.

As Australia proved in the VB Series finals this week, they remain the pre-eminent side in one-day cricket. But Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the ICC, was sure that the tournament would throw up some intriguing results. "Since the World Cup last year, we have seen a number of teams undergo a radical transformation," said Speed. "The England and Pakistan teams are barely recognisable from the sides that crashed out in the first round, and this tournament will be the opportunity for the cricketing world to see just how far these teams have now come.

David Clarke, the ECB's tournament director, was equally optimistic about the prospects for the tournament. "The ICC Champions Trophy presents a tremendous opportunity for cricket fans here to see the best in the world at close quarters," he said. "The intensity of the competition will guarantee plenty of top-quality action as the best one-day players in the world go head-to-head for this prestigious title in three of England's top venues."

Twelve teams will be split into four groups of three for a round-robin group stage, with the winner of each group moving through to the semi-finals.