England's World Cup game in Zimbabwe next month will go ahead as planned following a meeting of the ECB's management board.

The board met at Lord's on Tuesday morning, and confirmed the team would not withdraw from the fixture in protest at the regime of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, despite intense from the British Government for it to do so.

ECB Chief Executive, Tim Lamb, commented: "As I think is widely recognised, the ECB Management Board has been confronted with an extremely difficult situation, not of our own making."

He added: "We are not, of course, immune to, or unaware of, what is happening in the wider world, but we do not believe that it is our role to make subjective moral judgments about the various regimes in the different cricket-playing nations. These are matters for elected Governments to consider and take a decisive and early lead."

He said it was "perverse and inequitable" to expect the ECB to make a symbolic gesture by boycotting the match in Harare. Mr Lamb said: "There are so many more meaningful ways in which the British Government, the Commonwealth and the international community could express its displeasure at what is happening in Zimbabwe."

He also reaffirmed the Board's determination to deny the Mugabe regime any opportunity to exploit the England team's presence in Harare. "We will not take part in any ceremonial activities that could imply any support for the regime or be used as a propaganda platform." he said.

England will play Zimbabwe in their opening World Cup fixture in Harare on February 13.

15 Jan, 2003