England play the waiting game

England will wait until the International Cricket Council has signed the agreement for them to host the Champions Trophy in September before announcing whether the tour to Zimbabwe will go ahead.

Speculation has been rife that were England to refuse to tour then the tournament would be moved to another venue in retaliation - several countries' boards are understood to support such a move.

England are keen - some would say desperate - to avoid such a scenario as it would cost the already financially strapped England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) millions of pounds. The ECB signed the agreement last week, and it expects that the ICC will countersign by the end of March.

Officially, the ECB says it has not made a decision over Zimbabwe, but few believe the tour will take place. So its main aim now is damage limitation.

The ECB has reacted to the ICC's threat of a large fine by looking to the government to come up with something more concrete than verbal disapproval. If the government were to say that England couldn't tour, then the ICC would be unable to fine the board. The ECB is believed to be seeking legal advice as to whether letters and statements saying England shouldn't go amounts to the same thing.