Nasser Hussain will meet Tim Lamb, the ECB chief executive, in Sydney next week to get a briefing on the British government's views about the national team playing a World Cup match in Zimbabwe next February. England are due to play their opening match of the tournament against Zimbabwe in Harare on February 13. Debate is raging about whether England should boycott the match in Zimbabwe to protest against President Robert Mugabe's terrible human rights record.

Hussain told the media, after England's fighting five-wicket loss to Australia at the MCG, that information was needed from all parties to make the right decision on playing in Zimbabwe.

"Lamb is coming out to Sydney and I will sit with him and if it is true that our Prime Minister and politicians feel strongly that we shouldn't go to Zimbabwe then hopefully that's what Lamb will be relating to me. We certainly can't bury our heads in the sand."

Hussain said it was an important issue, especially to the people in Zimbabwe, and it shouldn't be left to the cricket team to make the decision whether to play there. "It is far too important a decision for me to make, we have to get a huddle of people together to give us the facts. "The [British] government must inform us whether it is the right thing to do or not.

"This just doesn't apply to Zimbabwe, it applied to India last [northern] winter where it was a more security issue and it will apply in the future because sport and politics occasionally do clash," he said. "I am asking for a body to be set up so that every time an issue likes this comes up the English captain of whatever sport it is goes in, sits down, thrashes it out and then decides whether to take his team to that country."

The ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed had earlier warned that teams would forfeit points if they pulled out of World Cup matches in Zimbabwe.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd