The Australian government said on Wednesday it wants a planned cricket tour to Zimbabwe in September cancelled in the wake of violence and human rights abuses in the Southern African nation.
A final decision would, however, be left to the sport’s governing body, Cricket Australia (CA).
”The government’s present inclination is that we would prefer that the tour did not go ahead,” said Helen Coonan, the government’s deputy leader in the upper House of Parliament.
Coonan said Canberra was appalled by the Zimbabwean government’s actions and hoped CA would take that into consideration when making a decision on whether to play three one-dayers there in September.
”The position that CA takes will be a matter for them, but clearly the government’s view will be drawn to their attention,” she said.
Under rules enforced by the International Cricket Council (ICC), CA must tour every ICC member country at least once every five years or face fines totalling millions of dollars.
The only way CA can avoid being fined by the ICC if it does not tour is if it has a legitimate security concern or is prevented from touring by the Australian government.
The regime of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has drawn international criticism over its brutal crushing of dissent this month, including the shooting of an activist and the beating of several opposition leaders. — Sapa-AFP