Cricket: Venue switch hopes hang by a thread

CAPE TOWN - England's hopes of switching their World Cup match away from strife-torn Zimbabwe were hanging by a thread last night after tournament organisers rejected their request.

The cup technical committee, meeting just two days before the start of the event, refused to move the February 13 game from Harare, despite England's concerns over political and social unrest in the country.

The England and Wales Cricket Board lodged a final appeal which is set to go before an ICC-appointed judge, most likely Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa, today.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said after the five-hour meeting: "It was a unanimous decision.

"The technical committee does not agree with the ECB ... We have tried to make the right decision in the circumstances.

"We believe we have done the best we can and made a fair and honest decision."

The controversy-plagued cup is due to start with an Olympic-style opening ceremony tomorrow morning, followed by South Africa playing the West Indies tomorrow night.

The 54-match fixture list, however, has been threatened with chaos for weeks.

The long-running row between England and Zimbabwe has been echoed by New Zealand's continuing refusal to play in Nairobi against co-hosts Kenya, and Australia's worries over travelling to Bulawayo.

ECB chief executive Tim Lamb said within an hour of the decision: "We are very disappointed. We have lodged our appeal.

"We hope to convince them [the ICC and the judge] of the strength of our argument."

England could end up forfeiting the Harare match - as well as facing demands for millions of dollars of compensation - and thus face a huge task in reaching the second round.



Lamb represented the ECB yesterday, with ZCU president Peter Chingoka in the opposite camp. Both were flanked by lawyers.

The witnesses included Patrick Ronan, head of World Cup security, and Peter Richer, from international security company Kroll, who produced an independent report for the ICC on Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe issue has simmered since December when British ministers urged the England team to boycott the match.

Britain accuses Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe of rigging his re-election last year and compounding a food crisis by seizing white-owned farms.

Similar boycott calls have been made in Australia by Prime Minister John Howard and in New Zealand.

Australia's squad said on Wednesday that they were still ready to play their pool A game in Bulawayo on February 24.

New Zealand, also worried about security, have yet to put in an official request for a venue switch - they are due to play in Nairobi on February 21 - but have already warned they could appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

Speed said the rejection of the England appeal "has no impact" on the New Zealand match, adding: "That's a completely separate matter."

Yesterday's decision always seemed likely.

World Cup director Ali Bacher and Speed, both on the five-man technical committee, rubber-stamped Zimbabwe's venues last week following a security visit.

The stakes had been raised to the limit on Thursday when the ZCU, in a tit-for-tat boycott threat, said it would refuse to play if the England game was moved to South Africa.

Lamb and England's cricket board had initially backed the ICC stance over Zimbabwe, arguing they were not in a position to make political judgments.

But they did an about-face after skipper Nasser Hussain and his players grew increasingly worried about the fixture.

South Africa advocates a less confrontational approach to its northern neighbour, and fellow Commonwealth members India and Pakistan - whose teams are also in group A - say they are happy to play in Zimbabwe.

Sri Lanka, in New Zealand's group, have said they have no problems playing in Kenya's second fixture.

South Africa are scheduled to stage 46 of the World Cup's 54 games, with six in Zimbabwe.

- REUTERS