England players 'urgently request' Zimbabwe fixture to be moved to South Africa

As concerns within the England team grow over the current political situation in Zimbabwe, the players have today requested an urgent review of their scheduled match against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday 13th February.

Without doubt, the issues have been weighing heavily on the players' minds, taking into account the moral, political and contractual aspects.

Concerns have been increasing daily.

As recently as Thursday 23rd January, representatives of the players and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), met with government officials from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). The meeting was chaired by the FCO's Director for Africa.

It was made clear that the situation in Zimbabwe is highly volatile.

Reading from the minutes of the meeting;

Recent relevant incidents include:
"The fire bombing of a ZANU (PF) office."

"The statement from the mayor that he could not guarantee security."

"Reports of Zimbabwean police finding an arms cache, allegedly for use by Mugabe's opponents against England's cricketers"

"(The approach of the opposition groups is still not clear.) The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has said they would not publicly call for protests, but were looking for ways to use the match to demonstrate popular dissatisfaction with the regime."

"It has also been reported that others might have similar intentions. It is very hard to judge how this would play out on the day of the England match. There might be big opposition demonstrations, met with a violent police response, leading to the loss of control."

"In terms of managing a demonstration, we have been advised that the Zimbabwean police could contain small to medium disorder, but would probably do so in a pretty brutal fashion. If there was serious disorder, the army might be called in."

The players are greatly concerned for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and especially for opposition supporters, who may be targeted by the police using brute force as indicated by the FCO. It is very important that no Zimbabwean, or any individual, comes to any harm because of a cricket match in Harare.

The players have appreciated the difficult position and immense pressure that Tim Lamb, ECB Chief Executive, and the ECB have been under. The players are keen to support their Board and to come to a satisfactory resolution, but they want to urge all parties to move the fixture to South Africa and to pay the Zimbabwe Cricket Union appropriate compensation.

The players have also received items of propaganda in both leaflet and letter form in Australia, as have the ECB in London. This has again highlighted the moral issues that face all parties. This perhaps was to be expected in such a volatile political environment.

Team England players have stated, "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."

"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."

"The World Cup organisers have indicated the fixture can be moved as late as Sunday 9th February; therefore we are keen to take as much time as necessary to ensure the right decision is made."

Much of the pressure on all parties could have been eased by a more decisive Governmental role.

Richard Bevan, Managing Director of the Professional Cricketers Association, said: "The Government has not taken a clear lead in this issue. There have been no wholesale economic or trading sanctions against Zimbabwe, there are no universal sporting sanctions and diplomatic ties have not been cut. Meetings should have been instigated as far back as March 2002."

Following a conversation with the ICC Chief Executive, Malcolm Speed, on Saturday 25th January, a meeting will take place this week between Malcolm Speed, Tim Lamb and Richard Bevan to discuss all these issues.

- Team England Players