Move match from Zimbabwe, says England cricket board

The England and Wales Cricket Board finally bowed to the wishes of its players yesterday by calling on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to switch next week's World Cup match against Zimbabwe to South Africa because of concerns over security.

Having rejected the Government's pleas not to play in the troubled African country and staunchly supported the cricket world governing body's stand to keep the match in Harare, the ECB changed course by making a formal request to the ICC to review the "safety and security situation".

The ICC's World Cup technical committee will meet in Cape Town tomorrow to decide whether to switch the game, scheduled for next Thursday. Given the ECB agrees there is a threat to security, it is hard to see how the team can be asked to play, whatever the findings of the six-man panel.

The England captain, Nasser Hussain, had said he feared anti-government demonstrations would lead to violence.