Umpire Willey to ask for Zimbabwe switch

The International Cricket Council is likely to be put in an uncomfortable situation today when one of its leading umpires will ask to be moved from the matches he is scheduled to attend in Zimbabwe.

This morning Peter Willey, widely regarded as England's best umpire, will meet David Richardson, the General Manager-Cricket at the ICC, to explain his concerns. The former England player is due to be the television replay umpire for Zimbabwe's two games in Bulawayo, against Australia on 24 February and the Netherlands four days later.

Explaining his reasons, Willey said: "I've never been to Zimbabwe before in my life and my concerns are the same as those of the England players. I am worried about my safety."

Willey is not the only umpire to voice doubts. Darryl Hair of Australia has also spoken about standing down from the match he is due to attend this Wednesday between Zimbabwe and India in Harare.

The results of these interventions will be viewed with interest by the England and Wales Cricket Board following the ICC's refusal to relocate England's match in Harare. They will be keen to show consistency, but reluctant to make one of their employees travel somewhere they do not wish to go.

ECB officials said they hope Nasser Hussain will stay on as captain despite his announcement that he could resign after the World Cup.

Hussain made his outburst after England were forced to forfeit their Group A match against Zimbabwe for refusing to play in Harare over security and ethical concerns. The ECB chief executive Tim Lamb said: "I spoke twice to Nasser Hussain before to assure him he had the total and unequivocal support of the board.

"I don't know [if he'll stand down], I think perhaps in the emotion of the moment he said what he did, we'll have to wait and see," he said. "There is no intention of replacing him."

Hussain said he and his team felt let down by the ICC and ECB. The players feel the ICC failed to take their security concerns seriously while the ECB wanted the Harare match to go ahead so as to avoid possible compensation claims.

"I don't blame him for being rather frustrated and emotionally drained after the events of recent weeks." Lamb said.