The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the go-ahead for Zimbabwe to stage matches during the World Cup. The decision came after ICC's development board studied a 12-page report from a delegation which visited the country at the end of last month. Explaining the decision, Malcolm Gray, ICC president, said that they were only concerned with cricketing matters. "While some countries have imposed specific sanctions on Zimbabwe, no government in any part of the world has identified sporting sanctions as an appropriate tool to achieve a political outcome. Zimbabwe has competed in recent high profile international sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games and the Davis Cup, and its players continue to represent their country in golf."

The announcement will dismay opposition leaders in Zimbabwe who have been pleading for a boycott in a bid to highlight the plight of the country. In recent days a number of British politicians have spoken against games going ahead in Zimbabwe.

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) gave their support to the decision. ""The ECB are not a political organisation and do not take decisions on that basis," explained chief executive Tim Lamb. "Our primary concern is the safety and security of our players and management team.

"The British Government have not instructed us not to go and, indeed, there are over 300 British companies currently trading in Zimbabwe who, similarly, have not been instructed to cease their commercial activities. There is no logical reason, therefore, why ECB as a commercial business should be singled out and penalised in comparison to those other commercial organisations."

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