England will not play Zimbabwe match on Thursday

The International Cricket Council has confirmed that England's World Cup opener against Zimbabwe will not go ahead in Harare.

The ICC's chief executive, Malcolm Speed, has told a Cape Town media briefing that the fixture had been cancelled by the ICC after the England and Wales Cricket Board decided not to fulfil it.

"The ECB has told us they will not play match in Harare on Thursday," said Speed. "The ECB cited safety concerns for the players as their reason for not fulfilling that commitment.

"The ICC give a direction to the ECB to comply and play the match in Zimbabwe. The ECB said today that it does not believe that direction is reasonable. Accordingly the ICC has moved to cancel the match which is scheduled for Thursday. The ICC is disappointed that the match will not go ahead."

Speed added that the ICC's technical committee would consider the issue of points from the match.

"The ECB has asked the ICC to consider relocating the match to a venue outside Zimbabwe at a later date. That process won't be something that will be resolved today.

"The ECB has asked the technical committee to consider new evidence that has come to light since the appeal to Justice Sachs last week. I certainly would not assume that the match will be relocated."

The ECB responded at a separate media briefing, where chairman David Morgan said: "This has not been a sordid squabble about money. We are concerned for the cricket fraternity in Zimbabwe and particularly those who would have been spectators at the match on the 13th.

"Throughout this process we have been trying desperately to keep the world of cricket united and are mindful of our responsibility in this regard. Although this process been lengthy we have not dithered or been guilty of procrastination."

"The safety and security of our players and their families has been a matter of paramount importance."

The ECB's chief executive, Tim Lamb, added: "We had hoped the the ICC would, as the ECB has done, put the interests of players and officials first.

"The ECB considers that the well-being of its players would be endangered if it compelled them to play in Harare in these circumstances. There are no winners in this situation."

The ECB asked for the game to be moved out of Zimbabwe last week, citing fears over player safety. The ICC turned the request down, and despite a final appeal to independent judge Albie Sachs, their decision stood.

Earlier today England's players were urged to concentrate on playing cricket while negotiations continue. The team met ECB chairman David Morgan this morning, and were told that he and ECB officials would take care of all non-cricketing matters.

Plainly there are further intensive negotiations in prospect before the matter is resolved, if indeed resolution is possible.