ECB put in 'horrendous position', says Gatting

The former England captain Mike Gatting believes the England and Wales Cricket Board have been put in a "horrendous position" by the Government after yesterday's decision at Lord's by the ECB to press on with the controversial World Cup fixture in Zimbabwe.

With no official political sanctions in place against the regime of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Gatting felt politicians were using cricket as a "soft target" on which to make an ethical stand.

Gatting, who captained the rebel England tour to apartheid South Africa in 1990, said: "The ECB were put in a very poor position by the Government.

"I think the ECB had nowhere to go. They are bound by a contract with the ICC and the players are bound by their contracts with the ECB. They were really put in a horrendous position by the Government.

"We don't like what's been going on in Zimbabwe and the players likewise probably feel the same but they have a job to do. They are trying to focus on cricket and compete and win the World Cup. Hopefully they can concentrate on that."

However the Government last night called the decision to play the match as "very disappointing".

The chief executive of county champions Surrey, Paul Sheldon, believes the ECB had no choice but to play the game in Harare as scheduled. "I don't think the ECB had a choice, they were put in an impossible position by asking them to make a moral decision," Sheldon said. "The important thing is that we can't have unilateral decisions being made by sporting bodies about the world order otherwise you would have anarchy in the world of sport."

Vince Hogg, managing director of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, was relieved at the decision. "We're very pleased obviously – we were expecting it and we're delighted England are coming," he said.

"England are very popular all over the world, very popular here, and we'll welcome England of course."