England postpone Zimbabwe decision after 'new information'

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced a further delay in their decision on whether to travel to Harare to play Zimbabwe in the World Cup on Thursday.

A boycott of the match had seemed likely after the squad were told that a hoax death threat to the players had been received by the ECB.

A complicated series of discussions then took place between the the players, their representatives the Professional Cricketers' Association and the ECB, after which a statement was made by the ECB chief executive, Tim Lamb.

"Specific information regarding the safety and security of the England players and officials came to light earlier today," Lamb said. "This information has confirmed the concerns of the ECB that we have had regarding safety and security in Zimbabwe.

"An announcement with regard to whether the England team will travel to Harare to fulfil the fixture has therefore been delayed until the new information has been formally committed to the ICC, and their response has been received.

"This announcement will be made as soon as practically possible. The England team will remain in Cape Town for at least another 24 hours, pending further developments. A practice session will be held for the England team in Cape Town tomorrow."

England's players, who have been locked in a string of meetings since Friday, are worried about security in Zimbabwe following political and social unrest in the country. They are due to play in Harare on Thursday.

England lost an appeal on Friday to have the game moved to South Africa when World Cup organisers insisted Harare was safe.

The managing director of the Professional Cricketers' Association, Richard Bevan, said there were concerns over the Kroll report, an independent report carried out by a New York security firm on behalf of the International Cricket Council.

"The author of the Kroll report made a presentation to the Team England players, along with a number of other people," Bevan said.

"The author contradicted himself on at least three occasions on a very serious point in front of the ICC's World Cup head of security and 20-odd people in the room - including the ECB management team.

"We still have not seen the Kroll report. We were fighting to see it on at least four occasions last week.

"Indeed, on the plane flying over here a couple of days ago I was told we could see the report on the basis of signing a confidentiality agreement, which did not enable me to explain any of the issues or content to the players. I declined a copy of the report - and signing the confidentiality agreement.

"The ECB were asking for more information, hence why there was a delay. That information has now come through and that is now subject to the ECB working with the ICC under the statement that Tim Lamb read out."

The World Cup holders, Australia, are also watching the situation carefully, after expressing concerns about their match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo later in the tournament, while New Zealand have refused to play a game against Kenya in Nairobi.

The England camp's concerns range from personal security issues to the ethical dilemma of playing in a country facing major upheaval.

Half of Zimbabwe's 14 million people face food shortages while main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is currently on trial facing a possible death sentence on a charge of trying to kill Mugabe.

Planned opposition protests around World Cup matches have fuelled fears for players' and fans' safety.