England put case against playing in Zimbabwe

Nasser Hussain's England squad may be playing the last warm-up match before the start of their World Cup campaign today but they will be forgiven for having one ear on events taking place several hundred miles away.

While Hussain's side are attempting to obtain decent practice and a victory against Border here, Tim Lamb, the Chief Executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, along with legal counsel, will be in Cape Town giving their reasons why England's controversial World Cup first-round fixture against Zimbabwe should be moved from Harare.

Both the players and the ECB have now asked for the game on 13 February to be relocated to a venue in South Africa because of fears over safety and security. And, in a hearing at 4.30pm (1430 GMT) Lamb, along with the ECB director of legal affairs, Mark Roper-Drimie, and Mark Gay of the solicitors Denton, Wilde and Sapte, will attempt to convince the event's technical committee that this is the right course of action.

Sitting on the event's technical committee, which took over responsibility of dealing with issues arising from the tournament such as this last Sunday, are six men. To a large extent the fate of this match, and possibly England's qualification for the next round of the World Cup, is in the hands of Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council; Dr Ali Bacher, the executive director of the ICC World Cup 2003; Campbell Jamieson, the commercial manager of IDI; and Brian Basson, of the United Cricket Board of South Africa. They will be joined by Sunil Gavaskar and Michael Holding, who sit as independent members.

The committee will hear evidence from England's representatives, who feel that conditions in Harare have deteriorated to such an extent that security and safety are no longer above a satisfactory level. Their decision will be made by a majority vote, with Speed, the chairman of the committee, having a casting vote. While there are moral issues at stake, those are not grounds on which the ICC can change the location of a match. The match can only be moved for safety and security reasons.

Lamb and his legal team will have to present a strong and convincing case if they are to obtain the result they desire, because only a week ago the ICC saw no reason why the fixtures in Zimbabwe and Kenya should be relocated. This followed the board receiving a detailed report from Kroll, an American independent risk consultant firm, which saw no credible reason for these matches not to take place at their original venues.

If the decision of the Technical Committee goes against England all is not lost, because they have the right to lodge an appeal. If that happens the ICC will appoint one of its three appeals commissioners, who will listen to the evidence and make a ruling. With the commissioner having to be independent of the country for whom the appeal was lodged, it would be Justice Albie Sachs, of South Africa, or Justice Richard Otieno Kwach, of Kenya, who would reach a verdict on England's case. Their decision would be final and binding.

If that finding went against England, the players and the ECB would then be in a very difficult position. Hussain's squad have stated there are moral as well as safety reasons for not going to Zimbabwe and the ECB has contractual obligations with the ICC to fulfil. Suppose England still said "no, we are not playing" not only would the team lose four vital points but the ECB would face a hefty compensation bill from the ICC.

Added to the stress of all this is time, which is running out. If the match was relocated, the ICC would need to give four days' notice to the new venue so the groundsmen and television companies could make the relevant arrangements. This means England have only three days.

Meanwhile, Australia's cricketers are also getting cold feet about their fixture against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on 24 February. After statements that Australia would play the match, their players have voiced concerns with officials from the Australian Cricket Board.

"There's no hiding from the fact that the players do have some concerns about Zimbabwe," James Sutherland, the chief executive of the ACB, said. "What we are trying to do is make sure they have as much information as possible in front of them before we go to Zimbabwe."

It sounds as if the technical committee and the appeals commissioners are going to be busy men.

* The West Indies captain, Carl Hooper, hit an unbeaten 100 to lift his side to 360 for 4 in 50 overs against the South African province Griqualand West in a World Cup warm-up match in Kimberley. Hooper, who has not played a one-day international since undergoing corrective surgery on his knees in November, hit two sixes and nine fours from 69 balls, reaching his century with two deliveries left in the innings.

* The injured Marlon Samuels seems certain to be reinstated in the West Indies squad for the World Cup. The Jamaican batsman was dropped two weeks ago after injuring his knee, but new tests suggest the problem is less severe than first diagnosed.

* New Zealand's all-rounder, Chris Cairns, ruled out the possibility of him bowling in the opening matches. "I will be available to bat, but not bowl, from the start," he said.