ECB cuts ties with ZC

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Wednesday it was suspending all ties with Zimbabwe and cancelling Zimbabwe's tour of England next year.
"The Government has written to the ECB today (Wednesday) and has made a clear instruction that Zimbabwe's bilateral tour scheduled under the ICC Future Tours Programme for 2009 should be cancelled," the board said in a statement.
The move also cast doubt on whether Zimbabwe would be allowed to compete in next year's Twenty20 World Cup in England.
A letter written by Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Andy Burnham to the ECB said the British Government had "concluded that it would not be right to allow the proposed tour (to England) by Zimbabwe Cricket in 2009 to take place."
Burnham, speaking to lawmakers in the House of Commons, said he hoped his letter would help to secure a "positive outcome" when the International Cricket Council (ICC) executive board considers the issue of Zimbabwe at its meeting in Dubai next week.
He added: "The Government has previously called on the ICC to reconsider its rules to allow teams to forfeit tours to countries, such as Zimbabwe, where serious human rights abuses are occurring. Unfortunately the ICC has declined to do so.
"Therefore, the Government has decided to make it clear that it will take all necessary steps to prevent players from Zimbabwe from participating in that tour."
He said that, in reaching a decision, ministers had taken into account the "close ties" between the Zimbabwe cricket team and the regime of President Robert Mugabe.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had earlier Wednesday made it clear he wanted the Zimbabwe cricket team to be banned from touring England next year.
"We want to ensure that Zimbabwe does not tour England next year and we will call for other countries to join us in banning Zimbabwe from the Twenty20 international tournament," Brown said during Prime Minister's Question Time.
Zimbabwe, which effectively suspended itself from Test cricket because of a collapse in playing standards, could now be frozen out of the one-day game.
However, the issue of Zimbabwe only moved on to the ICC agenda after the decision by South Africa on Monday to suspend cricket ties with its African neighbour.
If seven full members of the ICC board agree, Zimbabwe will be suspended from international cricket but it is by no means certain this will happen.
In its statement, the ECB added: "The ECB deplores the position in Zimbabwe and, like Cricket South Africa, finds this untenable. Therefore all bilateral arrangements are suspended with Zimbabwe Cricket with immediate effect.
"The ECB ... share the Government's concerns about the deteriorating situation and lack of human rights in Zimbabwe.
"ECB are now in detailed discussions to identify a replacement country to tour in the early part of the summer of 2009."
Earlier this month, England batsman Andrew Strauss suggested players might make an individual moral judgment not to play against Zimbabwe if the ECB or the ministers did not take action.
"If it comes down to players to do that we'll definitely have to look at it. There's a sense that we've been left in the lurch before."
After the Twenty20 World Cup, England are due to host Australia in a five-Test Ashes series as well as playing their oldest rivals in seven one-day internationals and two separate Twenty20 matches.
Ministers want Zimbabwe barred from touring England as a protest against the policies of the Mugabe regime.
But the recent withdrawal by Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai from the second round of the presidential election amidst widespread violence in the troubled African state appears to have acted as a catalyst for action by British ministers.
The ECB will be happy for the Government to take the matter out of their hands. It means they'll escape an ICC fine of two million dollars (one million pounds), which would have been imposed had they banned Zimbabwe themselves.