Brown welcomes Zim's decision

2008-07-04 16:00

Fred Atkins

London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has welcomed Zimbabwe's decision to pull out of the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup.

"This will allow the Twenty20 tournament in England to go ahead," Brown said on Friday.

"It also sends a powerful message to Zimbabwe that the government must change or face further isolation."

The British government withdrew its invitation last week for Zimbabwe to tour next May in protest after Robert Mugabe won a widely discredited presidential election.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said the ICC had backed away from the issue.

"Would it have been better in Zimbabwe if they had been banned from the ICC? Probably not, but at least there would have been a bold statement from the cricketing world," Hussain told Sky Sports News.

Andy Burnham, the British secretary of state for culture, media and sports, welcomed the ban but said tougher action was needed against Zimbabwe.

"I welcome the fact that Zimbabwe will not play in the world Twenty20 in England next year," Burnham told the BBC. "While I would have preferred the ICC to take a stronger stance against Zimbabwe cricket, this solution still allows individual cricket authorities to make their own choices over whether to play Zimbabwe."

Put cricket first

The decision was greeted with relief by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

"This matter led to a complex and lengthy series of negotiations," chairperson Giles Clarke said. "We've had long discussions with our colleagues on the ICC over the last three days and we're grateful they saw the point of view we held."

The ICC said Zimbabwe had put cricket's interests first.

"The Zimbabwe delegation has agreed to take this decision in the greater interest of world cricket and the ICC," a statement said. "This recommendation should be viewed as a one-off and will not be taken as a precedent. (Zimbabwe) will not suffer financially as a result of its non-participation in the ICC World Twenty20."

This prompted Hussain to accuse the ICC of putting its own interests ahead of moral issues.

"The ICC have always been known to fudge issues like this," Hussain said. "They are more concerned with internal politics and about who will vote for who in the future."

Bacher called for boycott

Hussain argued the ICC should have taken a stand.

"You have to remember that there are so many political things going on behind the scenes," Hussain added. "It is a matter of if you scratch our back, we will scratch yours. That is the way the ICC and people around that table would have been operating."

Ali Bacher, former head of South African cricket, called for a sporting boycott.

"As far as I'm concerned, there should be no discussion," Bacher told cricket Web site cricinfo.com. "Zimbabwe should be isolated and banished from the international arena."

Bacher argued South Africa's example proved sporting sanctions could be effective.

"I say this because of what brought apartheid down in South Africa. It was the international isolation.

"The same thing must happen now with Zimbabwe," said Bacher.

- SAPA