England to plead 'exceptional case'

England will argue that they have an exceptional case for moving their World Cup match against Zimbabwe from Harare to South Africa when the issue is discussed again by the International Cricket Council on Thursday.

After days of speculation as to their intentions, the England players yesterday made public their concerns over security issues both for themselves and Zimbabweans, and asked that the game in Harare on 13 February be switched

The ICC, the game's world governing body, responded by saying that it was aware of the fears of the England players but stressed there was at present "no reason to move the game".

However, Tim Lamb, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said that "given the historical ties between the two countries, and in the light of the relationship between the two governments, we might be able to argue that there is a special case."

Lamb will also raise the "image" issue with the ICC. "What we don't want, what cricket cannot afford, is for the image and reputation in what otherwise would be an outstanding international sporting event to be tainted or marred by scenes of mass demonstrations... possibly with the loss of life, or injury to life or limb.

"I think the organisers of the World Cup and the ICC would find it very difficult to cope with the damage to their reputation. I certainly think we will be pushing that line with the ICC over the coming days."

The ECB can expect a tough battle at Thursday's tele-conference of the ICC board, which will again discuss the games scheduled for Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said: "The process is in place for the English players, through their board, to have this issue debated. We are committed to monitoring the security of players in Zimbabwe, and this is being done on a daily basis. To do this we have in place a system that will allow us to make a proper, fact-based assessment on the safety issues.

"As it stands, based on expert advice, the ICC continues to see no reason to move the games.

"The ICC is an international sporting organisation with 84 members with a variety of cultures, beliefs and political systems. Its members are in place to make judgements on cricket administration and not to take a political stance on foreign policy issues."

As the England captain, Nasser Hussain, and his 15-strong party were en route to South Africa following the Ashes tour of Australia, their representative was outlining their misgivings in London. Richard Bevan, the managing director of the Professional Cricketers' Association, said: "The issues have been weighing heavily on the players' minds, taking into account the moral, political and contractual aspects. Concerns have been growing daily.

"They are greatly concerned for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and especially for opposition supporters, who may be targeted by the police using brute force. It is very important that no Zimbabwean, or any individual, comes to any harm because of a cricket match in Harare.

"The players are keen to support their board, but they want to urge all parties to move the fixture to South Africa and to pay the Zimbabwe Cricket Union compensation. The World Cup organisers have indicated that the fixture can be moved as late as Sunday, 9 February.''

One of the chief factors fuelling the players' anxieties was the meeting held last week with officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Bevan said: "The meeting was chaired by the FCO's director for Africa. It was made clear that the situation in Zimbabwe is highly volatile.''

Bevan read out selected items from the minutes of that meeting which included: "The firebombing of Zanu (PF) Office; the statement from the Mayor (of Harare) that he could not guarantee security; reports of police finding an arms cache; and the observation from that meeting that 'there might be big opposition demonstrations, met with a violent police response, leading to the loss of control'.''