Weary Morgan looks for 'closure'

Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen unwind after arriving in Harare © Getty Images

After 48 hours in which he was locked in meetings with officials from Zimbabwe Cricket in a bid to save England's tour, David Morgan, the ECB's chairman, has expressed him hope that taking the field against Zimbabwe will bring "closure" of the whole affair.

Morgan has come under intense criticism for his handling of the affair, being accused, among other things, of having "the timing of a top comedian" and acting with the authority of "a half-dead mouse". Some have called for his resignation, while polls in the UK are massively against the tour proceeding. But with the squad safely in Harare, he hit back.

"We firmly believe in order for closure of the Zimbabwe affair to take effect we need to play cricket here in Zimbabwe ... and that's what we're here for," Morgan told the Press Association. "We're concerned this tour should go smoothly, that there should be no demonstrations, no injury."

As for the more personal criticism, Morgan said that he wasn't immune, but added that he had "had a fairly tough upbringing in business and industry and I'm just concerned I do the right thing. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of gaining closure on this affair, and that will come once we've played the cricket."

At least Morgan cannot be accused of talking a soft line with Zimbabwe Cricket over its attempts to reschedule Friday's cancelled one-day international. It claimed that it would suffer financial hardship because of the decision. "We've made it clear we don't think the ECB are liable for that loss," he said, adding: "It's a direct result of the delay in media accreditation."

Faced yet again with demands that he should have cancelled the tour when the journalists' accreditation was originally refused, Morgan stuck to his guns. "It has been very clear to me and our board for a considerable time that moral or political objections to touring are totally unacceptable within the international cricket community. Our business or trade is cricket, and our revenue-earner is international cricket. If we want to trade in international cricket then we have to do so by the rules of the International Cricket Council. People around the world, not just in cricket but in business generally, are fed up with Britain claiming it's a special case. Internationally the rest of the world is unsympathetic to such claims."

Morgan might face another problem in the coming days. Rumours are circulating that Robert Mugabe, having been forced to back down over the matter of journalists, might look to embarrass the English by paying a visit to one of the games in Harare. Morgan said that his reaction would be difficult to predict but that he had had "confidential advice from the Foreign Office and that advice will be uppermost in my mind."

The Foreign Office, however, said that what he did was up to Morgan himself. "We cannot tell him what to do," said a spokesman. "This is not a dictator state, it is the individual's choice."