England's mood hardens over Zimbabwe

World Cup » Boycott of the visit to Harare comes closer as Hussain's players take their misgivings into the open

England's players will lead an emotive and persuasive campaign this week aimed at having the World Cup matches in Zimbabwe called off. In a swift and radical retreat from the line they have trodden all winter, the team seem now determined not to play their first fixture in the tournament in Harare on 13 February, and will be at the forefront of efforts to have all six pool matches moved to South Africa.

The Zimbabwean players may not be far behind. The change of mood has been discernible for a few days but it hardened quickly. At a post-match press conference a week ago, Nasser Hussain, the England captain, spoke of a television programme he had seen the previous night which could, he said, only force players to ask questions of themselves.

There then followed the delivery of letters to all players in the dressing room at Sydney on Thursday which outlined the country's plight and warned of riots. Although they purported to be from a freedom-fighting group, they made no threat of violence, direct or indirect.

By the time the International Cricket Council were reiterating their stance after an executive board meeting last Friday – no political judgements, only an examination of safety and security – the players were already asking plenty of questions of other people. They wanted answers from their own board (the ECB) and, in turn, from the ICC.

Amidships the issue was further clouded by the players suddenly declaring that they wanted a few days at home before the World Cup began. Hussain himself seemed to be leading the charge. Yet by yesterday that was off the agenda. The team were heading straight to South Africa and by staying together, said Hussain, "we will be able to bring a new sense of focus and team spirit".

From the need to get Australia out of the system and start afresh in South Africa after five days in Blighty, the faint odour of trade-off was in the air. Hussain was reluctant to fuel the debate after the VB Series final last night. But he said tellingly: "We are discussing things in the dressing room, certainly the senior players. You have to when you're getting letters in the dressing room. We're not a lot of numbheads who don't have a chat."

It seems more than ever now that the players will have their way. If there is an element of brinkmanship in the stance taken by their representative and negotiator, Richard Bevan, managing director of the Professional Cricketers' Assoc- iation, he sounds confident that the tide is turning irrevocably. He was careful to say yesterday: "The players continue to support the ECB but they will be raising one or two concerns." He put additional pressure on the ICC by stating unequivocally there was a mood around that the matches should be moved.

"I am amazed that no board represent-ative mentioned this," he said. "It is significant that the meeting is reconvened next Thursday." It was also significant that the ICC did not bother to mention the reconvening in their official statement. Indeed, they said that the latest report by security delegates had shown (predictably) that there were no threats to the safety of players and officials in Zimbabwe. "Following this report, all members were given the opportunity to seek to change the decision of the board, but no country sought to do so." Up to a point.

England, recognising the mood of their players, asked for the meeting to be reconvened. Security officers from South Africa, who accompanied the most recent ICC delegation to Zimbabwe, have remained in the country, ostensibly to keep monitoring the situation.

David Morgan, the ECB chairman, whose honeymoon period after taking office on 1 January lasted about a minute, conceded for the first time that the players were less ready to go. "I will insist that when we resume the meeting we should have a further report," he said. "If that report is a negative one then I shall be making it very clear that we believe England won't be fulfilling that fixture." So there has been a shift on both sides.

What the England players must now do is to persuade their colleagues from other countries. That will be the hard part. The Australian Cricket Board have shown no great willingness over the issue and Bob Merriman, their chairman, confided to Morgan that England were on their own. But Ricky Ponting, Australia's World Cup captain, said after the victory in the VB Series in Melbourne that Zimbabwe was a difficult issue. No doubt the PCA, through Bevan, will attempt to stir the minds of other nations' players as England's have been stirred. The importance of acting in concert cannot be overstated. Morgan talked of England becoming isolated and thus creating a split in the world game.

The role of Kenya in the process may be crucial. The decision about whether to play two World Cup pool matches there has been deferred until Thursday. There are obviously doubts about safety. If there are sufficient doubts there, it seems unfeasible there are none about Harare and Bulawayo, given the mood on the streets. Kenya has just elected its first democratic leader for two decades.

There will still be India, Pakistan and perhaps to a lesser extent Namibia to placate. They have said all along that they are happy to play in Zimbabwe and will not allow politics to become enmeshed in sport. They may object to a late change of mind. The growing likelihood is that the ICC might find some way out of Zimbabwe. The fact that it is dominating the event may undermine the first weeks of the World Cup. It is publicity from which the tournament may not recover.

It will take some delicate judgement, declarations and compromise, but the desire to get the World Cup talked about in cricketing terms rather than political ones is now a front-running candidate. If Kenya is the ultimate fall guy, nobody will lose. Both Kenya and Zimbabwe will be fully compensated for any financial losses incurred, by which time everybody may be happy.