By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had still not decided whether or not it is going to boycott its fixture in Zimbabwe because of security fears.
A representative for the English cricket team, Andrew Walpole, said the ECB was ”still in the process of drafting a written response, which would be personally delivered to the International Cricket Council (ICC)”.
”We will have face-to-face meetings with ICC executive director Malcolm Speed,” he said.
Earlier in the day, an inter-ministerial committee – appointed by Cabinet to monitor events impacting on the cricket World Cup — appealed to the ECB to take a decision on whether the English team would honour their commitment to play in Harare on Thursday.
Sport and Recreation Minister Ngconde Balfour — who chairs the committee — said in a statement that England’s silence on the matter was most unfortunate, and a negative impact on the World Cup, at a time when other participating teams were entertaining the cricket world with excellent performances.
”Their silence is doing more damage to their own cause, and I want to urge them to demonstrate to the world that they can act decisively,” said Balfour.
”It is time for England to abide by decisions made by the ICC, of which they are a leading member,” he added.
Balfour said England could contribute towards the World Cup being a great success, and thus show their support for the growth of the game in Africa.
”They can do this by removing the uncertainty about their game in Zimbabwe. Now that the tournament is off to a great start, let the focus shift to where it matters — onto the playing fields.”
Earlier on Tuesday, executive director of the ICC World Cup, Dr Ali Bacher, also urged the English team to make up its mind.
”I come on behalf of the organisers to make a concerted and passionate plea to the England and Wales Cricket Board, and the English team, to decide if they are going to Harare or not.”
He said he had always been impressed by the fairness and fair play of the English team and asked them to show the same spirit towards South Africa and the rest of the continent. – Sapa