NZ prime minister encourages Zimbabwe boycott

Helen Clark: 'Zimbabwe has just had elections that no reasonable person would agree were free or fair' © Cricinfo

Helen Clark, New Zealand's prime minister, said that while she would "not be seen dead" in Zimbabwe, she will not tell the New Zealand side whether they should go or not.

"I have to say that, if it were me, I would not be going," Clark told Newstalk ZB radio. "Zimbabwe has just had elections that no reasonable person would agree were free or fair ... a rigged election which has produced a result which is simply unbelievable.

"I will support their decision but it really is a decision for them to make," she added. "The government doesn't tell them what to do."

Stephen Fleming said he had not seen the letter from the Green Party leader Rod Donald, which urged the players to pull out of the tour, but was confident Martin Snedden, New Zealand Cricket's chief executive, would deal with the issue. Snedden has already said any player could avoid the trip on moral grounds.

New Zealand toured Zimbabwe in 2000 when the series was approved by Chris Doig, the previous chief executive, but Snedden insisted the team not travel to Kenya for a World Cup match in 2003 over terrorism worries. A five-week tour is currently planned for August despite opposition to the regime of the president Robert Mugabe, who won the controversial March 31 election, although the legitimacy of the results have been questioned by many world leaders.