Amid protests from victims of Robert Mugabe’s regime and in the face of government advice, English cricket’s governing body has confirmed that it will fulfil its controversial World Cup fixture in Zimbabwe next month.
Yesterday, at a chaotic press conference delayed for two hours by protesters who forced their way into Lord’s, Tim Lamb, the England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive, announced the match would go ahead as scheduled.
Only a serious deterioration in the security situation will now prevent England turning out at the Harare Sports Club on February 13 to play the hosts.
Opposition to the match has grown since the government called on the ECB to withdraw from the match because of human rights abuses by Robert Mugabe’s regime and a looming famine.
The ECB had said that withdrawal from the match could incur penalties of more than £1-million, and called for government compensation to cover potential losses.
Lamb, speaking after a meeting of the ECB management board voted unanimously in favour of the game going ahead, said that financial necessity had outweighed moral and political arguments.
”The ECB is not a political body and we do not take decisions on that basis,” he said. ”We are not, of course, immune to or unaware of what is happening in the wider world, but we do not believe that it is our role to make subjective moral judgments about the various regimes in the different cricket-playing nations.
”We are the national summer sport, but we are also a commercial organisation, with a relatively modest annual turnover, and we simply cannot afford to absorb the sort of financial losses that might arise from any decision to withdraw.”
Lamb said that while the board did not condone the policies of the Mugabe regime, it doubted ”cancellation of one cricket match in Zimbabwe will make any difference to the leaders of that regime”.
His remarks came as the Zimbabwe police said they had uncovered plans by the main opposition group, the Movement for Democratic Change, to stage violent protests aimed at wrecking World Cup matches in the country. This was dismissed by the MDC as an excuse for repression. It denied any plans for protests.
Inequitable
Lamb said it was ”perverse and inequitable” that cricket had been asked to make a symbolic gesture, and listed the reasons the board had ignored political pressure:
There have been concerns that President Mugabe will attempt to exploit the match for propaganda purposes but Lamb said the team would not do anything that implied support for the regime.
”[We] know very well what a hoo-hah there would be if there were pictures of Nasser Hussain [the England captain] and the English cricketers and myself being seen to shake the hand of Mugabe,” he said. ”We have decided as a matter policy that we are not going to expose our cricketers to having to take those steps.”
He added that the players, currently in Australia, had indicated they would support the ECB’s decision and said he expected them all to travel to Harare.
With shortages and unrest growing in Zimbabwe, Lamb stressed to the International Cricket Council the need to review security arrangements. Lamb said there was no question of the match going ahead if players were at risk.
The match, and five others scheduled for Zimbabwe, can be rescheduled in South Africa at four days’ notice.
Throughout Lamb’s justification of a decision that will delight World Cup organisers, demonstrators could be heard chanting and singing outside.
Earlier, representatives of the Zimbabwe Association, led by the gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, forced their way into the press conference in protest.
On Monday the same group got into Lamb’s office and despite heightened security yesterday they embarrassed Lord’s legendary gatekeepers for a second time.
One protester, Addley Nyamutaka, who is seeking asylum after being raped and tortured in Zimbabwe, passed out and the press conference was moved to a room on the other side of the ground.
Downing Street’s response to the decision was pragmatic and reflected its attitude to a row that it entered into reluctantly and under media pressure.
”Given what we have said, we accept that decision,” the prime minister’s official representative said. ”We will obviously continue to speak with them in respect of what they have said in terms of not allowing Mugabe to make propaganda out of this, and we will continue to be in touch with them regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, which may have a knock-on effect in respect of the security and safety issues.”
A representative for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the decision was ”disappointing”.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats condemned the decision but sought to blame the government for intervening too late. Michael Ancram, the shadow foreign secretary, said: ”This is a victory for tyranny and a sad day for English cricket. However, our cricket authorities and players should never have been placed in this position by the government.”
For…
India
India uses Zimbabwe as venue for winter cricket tournaments that raise huge amounts of revenue, and has no wish to disturb a mutually beneficial relationship
Pakistan
Pakistan opposes all boycotts because it is the most frequent victim of them. Recent series have been cancelled because of security concerns, and it is prevented from entertaining its closest neighbour and biggest rival by Indian foreign policy
Namibia
President Sam Nujomo is a close friend of Mugabe and considered withdrawing his country’s team in event of England boycott
Holland
The Dutch are just happy to have the opportunity to play in a World Cup
Sebastian Coe
Tory peer and Olympic gold medallist in Moscow 1980, when athletes defied government calls for a boycott, said: ”It is crazy for anyone to say that by entering Harare stadium Nasser Hussain and his players are becoming agents for Robert Mugabe”
Against…
Tony Blair
”We have made it quite clear to the cricket authorities that we believe it is wrong that they should go”
Australia
Premier John Howard echoed UK government line, but called for a multilateral boycott without success
New Zealand
Kiwis supported the Howard plan but as they are not scheduled to play in Zimbabwe carried no great weight
David Graveney
England chairman of selectors and member of the 1989-90 rebel tour to South Africa: ”If someone asked me to visit Zimbabwe, I would say no”
Mike Gatting
Ex-England captain and leader of 1989-90 rebel tour of South Africa: ”If the government thinks it’s wrong for England to have sporting ties with Zimbabwe, Mr Blair should stop teams going there”
David Gower
Former England captain said: ”I deplore what’s going on in Zimbabwe, and I’m sure the England players do too” – Guardian Unlimited