Zimbabwe Face Tour Ban

The labor government will make the moral case for Zimbabwe to be banned from the Twenty20 World Cup in England next summer, as well as the one-day international tour scheduled to precede it, when a letter from the culture secretary, Andy Burnham, expressing opposition to their visit is delivered to the England and Wales Cricket Board at Lord's today.

The decision follows news that Zimbabwe faces the possibility of suspension from international competition by the sport's world governing body, the International Cricket Council, at a meeting in Dubai next Wednesday. Burnham will urge the board to take a tough stance there and it is understood that the government is ready to use immigration powers to bar Zimbabwean cricketers from entry to the UK if their planned visit is not called off.

The ECB has long wanted labor to ban England from playing Zimbabwe, so protecting them from the risk of an international ban. The violence in Zimbabwe during Robert Mugabe's election campaign, plus the possibility that the ICC will suspend the country anyway, seems poised to tip the balance. The move came after the shadow culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, called for a government ban before the ICC meeting. "Gordon Brown needs to match tough words with tough actions," he said. "If we are not going to recognize the regime, why are we welcoming a team that is run by Mugabe's henchmen?"