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ECB has put off final decision again
By Neville de Silva in London
England's scheduled cricket tour of Zimbabwe this November is still in limboland. Once more a decision on whether the England squad should go to politically troubled Zimbabwe which quit the Commonwealth after some of the white Commonwealth nations pressured Commonwealth heads of governments last November to take stern measures against the African nation, has been postponed.

But this time the postponement has been at the behest of the International Cricket Council (ICC) which has asked the England Cricket Board to make its case at a meeting of all test-playing nations and associate members.

This is the second time in a week that the ECB has put off a final decision on whether to go ahead with the tour or call it off on political and moral grounds. Earlier it was said that the ECB would make a decision when its board of management met on January 29.

But two Fridays ago it was announced that the ECB would make the decision in February after studying the financial and political implications of withdrawing from the tour. But now the decision has been put off again at the request of Eshan Mani, president of the ICC.

Mani, according to a ICC release, has asked the ECB to state its case at the two-day meeting of the ICC executive board due to be held in Auckland, New Zealand starting March 10.

David Morgan, chairman of the ECB is now expected to present its case for possibly withdrawing from the Zimbabwe tour and hear the views of the 10 test-playing nations and the three associate members.

While the British Government has not banned the tour, leaving it largely to the ECB to decide, the official attitude towards Zimbabwe is extremely negative and one of discouragement because of President Mugabe's perceived violation of human rights, racial discrimination and political rigging.

But whether these issues would sway the other ICC members to agree to a cancellation of the Zimbabwe tour could create a precedent for withdrawing from tours on essentially political grounds.

It is possible that diplomacy via media might be found by way of reimbursing Zimbabwe for any financial loss and postponing the tour instead of cancelling it to save face all round.

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