Threat of penalties forced players' hand - Gough

Darren Gough: 'We've all been advised not to socialise, not to play golf, just to keep out of the limelight' © Getty Images

Giving a clearer indication of the mood within the team before England's one-day series against Zimbabwe, Darren Gough has said that if it were up to the players, none would tour Zimbabwe. Gough admitted that the potential damage of the ICC's financial penalties gave the players little room to manoeuvre.

His comments came after Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan expressed discontent at having to travel to Zimbabwe. "If the International Cricket Council said it was up to each individual player whether he wanted to go, and England wouldn't suffer financially, each player would pull out," Gough told The Daily Telegraph. "But England will lose between £10 million and £20 million if we don't go. Youth cricket will suffer, the academy, everything the country's worked for will suffer."

Earlier this year, the BBC reported that Ehsaan Mani had denied telling the English board that a boycott could lead to heavy penalties. But a spokesperson for the ECB said that though there was no explicit threat by the ICC, to not go to Zimbabwe could hurt their revenue.

Gough said he was only going to Zimbabwe to represent his country at cricket, and would walk away if asked to shake hands with Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president. "I'm there for one reason - to represent my country in an international cricket match. We've all been advised not to socialise, not to play golf, just to keep out of the limelight when we're not on the cricket pitch. It's sad but that's what we'll be doing.

"If I get into a situation where I'm supposed to be at a function and shaking hands with Mugabe, I won't do it. I'll walk away. I'm not afraid to do that."