Tour to go ahead, says ECB

England's tour of Zimbabwe will go ahead as scheduled despite the media ban imposed on journalists. Thirteen English journalists, including those from The Times, the Daily Telegraph and the BBC, were yesterday denied entry into Zimbabwe to cover the series.

The England & Wales Cricket Board felt that they could not abandon the tour as that might result in severe penalties from the International Cricket Council, whose rules do not cover matters related to media accreditation.

Michael Vaughan condemned the ban, terming it "totally wrong". Vaughan was quoted in the Telegraph as saying, "I'm flabbergasted by the decision. Whether you like the media or not, they have a huge role to play in the game. Through giving the game exposure and with TV rights they bring the game 60% of its income."

However, he confirmed that the team wouldn't pull out of the tour because of this ban. "There's something very wrong if our media can't get in to cover a tour," he said. "I don't know how a cricket tour can be called a cricket tour when our media aren't involved. I wouldn't pull out because of it, but I'm in contact with Richard Bevan, the Professional Cricketers' Association rep, asking for advice."

Bevan, though, wasn't sanguine about whether the matter could be solved. "We're extremely disappointed in the decision to ban certain newspapers and broadcasters," he said. "It's an unacceptable position for the game to be in. I know there are significant discussions taking place but I'm not optimistic."