The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) has said that their tour of Zimbabwe will go ahead, despite increasing unrest in the country which has led to calls for Zimbabwe to be expelled from the Commonwealth. A general election is due in Zimbabwe on March 9-10, four weeks before the Australian side is due to arrive, and the Australian Foreign Affairs Department has advised tourists to take extra care because of "increasing political tension and lawlessness".

The ACB said that at the moment it could see no reason why the tour, which includes two Tests and three one-day matches, should not proceed. "We have no reason to change our plans. We have a very good process in place for all tours," a spokesman said. "We're certainly not planning to call the tour off.

"Our experience in the past has been that relying on media reports can be unreliable."

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