England Cricket Team 'to Pull Out of Match'

England's cricketers were last night reported to be about to pull out of their controversial World Cup in Zimbabwe this Thursday. Players have complained of being sent death threats.

Captain Nasser Hussain was said to be opposed to playing the game for fear of violent protests, according to a source accompanying the team. Vice-captain Alec Stewart is understood to be leading a minority 'pragmatist' faction, a group of players keen to go ahead.

The threats, issued by a previously unknown group called the 'Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe' have pledged violence against the players and their families if they fulfil their fixture against the Zimbabwean national side.

Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe and of the nation's cricketing body, is anxious to see the game played. A successful World Cup will be widely seen as an endorsement of his regime. Tomorrow Zimbabwe are due to play Namibia.

If England pulls out, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) would face a heavy fine and the team would forfeit the points from the match, making their progress to the tournament's later stage unlikely. The England team has an 'outside chance' of winning the World Cup, say commentators.

In recent weeks the British government has repeatedly urged the team to pull out of the fixture. The players and the ECB have been trying to have it relocated to South Africa.

The team was due to fly to Harare today but instead will announce a revised schedule. One canvassed solution, now unlikely to be adopted, would be to fly in just for Thursday's match, having acclimatised in Johannesburg.

World champions Australia have also expressed reservations about playing in Zimbabwe, while New Zealand has refused to play its World Cup game in Kenya on security grounds.

Last week the International Cricket Council, the sport's global governing body, insisted that England fulfil the fixture or face a heavy fine and the loss of points. They have been made aware of the death threats.