Tour would be 'propaganda coup' for Mugabe - Downer

Alexander Downer, Australia's foreign minister, said a visit to Zimbabwe by Australia's cricketers would be "a propaganda victory" for Robert Mugabe. Downer said he would meet with Cricket Australia this week to discuss the tour, scheduled for September, but he believed the players should take a stand against Mugabe's regime by boycotting the trip.

"We can't ... formally ban them but I'll be meeting with ... Cricket Australia ... during the course of this week and we'll be having a series of discussions about how to manage this," Downer said on the Perth radio station 6PR. "Normally I'm not a great fan of bringing politics into sport but in this particular case I think it is appropriate we should ... take a very [tough] stand against Mugabe's regime and do our best to stop the cricketers."

The government has already said it will pay any fine imposed by the ICC on CA if it cancels the tour, a stance reiterated by Downer. "But we haven't reached that point yet and I need to talk through all the details of their contracts with them," he said.

"My view is that the tour shouldn't go ahead and if it were to go ahead then Australia - which is after all the world championship team - would give Zimbabwe's regime and its president, who has been the patron of Zimbabwe Cricket Association, a propaganda victory, a propaganda coup.

"This is a horrific regime in Zimbabwe and we should take a stand against it, and included amongst those who should take a stand are our cricketers." Ricky Ponting said last week each Australian player would be asked his opinion on whether the tour should go ahead.