- News>
- Cricket
Sponsor warns England against Zimbabwe tour: Report
London, Sept 26: Vodafone, one of English cricket`s leading sponsors, has warned that it may withdraw its 3 million pounds a year backing if England go ahead with their planned tour of Zimbabwe in 2004, reported a British newspaper today.
London, Sept 26: Vodafone, one of English cricket's leading sponsors, has warned that it may withdraw its 3 million pounds a year backing if England go ahead with their planned tour of Zimbabwe in 2004, reported a British newspaper today.
Ian Maclaurin, chairman of the telecommunications multinational, who until last year was also the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), told the newspaper that it would be "abhorrent" for England to play in Zimbabwe while the regime of President Robert Mugabe still held power.
Earlier this year, England's World Cup campaign was overshadowed by a protracted row over whether the team should play a fixture in Zimbabwe where Mugabe has been accused of human rights abuses and blamed for the economic situation in the famine-ravaged African state.
Eventually, England did withdraw just days before the March match was due to take place but solely for safety reasons after the ECB had resisted British government pressure to call the game off in protest at Mugabe. England were docked points for failing to play a World Cup match, a move that helped them to a first round exit.
The issue led to damaging splits within English cricket between players and administrators as well as between England and other cricket nations unhappy at what they saw as the ECB's insulting prevarication.
As part of an attempt to repair relations Maclaurin's successor, the current ECB chairman David Morgan, addressed a meeting of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union where it was confirmed that England would tour there in 2004. But with Mugabe showing no sign of stepping down, Maclaurin said, "We do not want to support a side that goes and plays in a country with the sort of regime that is reviled not just by this company but by many in the country. To do so would be abhorrent."
ECB chief executive Tim Lamb said, "We are very mindful of the issues that arose before the World Cup and we will need to give serious consideration to the feeling of our sponsors."
Vodafone and the ECB are currently halfway through a four-year sponsorship deal worth 3 million pounds (5 million dollars) per year.
But withdrawal could expose the ECB to more financial penalties from the International Cricket Council (ICC) who withheld 3.5 million dollars of England's World Cup cut in lieu of compensation claims following their Harare boycott.
The global governing body wants to protect the integrity of its world test championship which runs over a five-year period.
Sanctions are in place if teams pull out from their agreed touring obligations. These were threatened after South Africa, who have now gone ahead with their Pakistan tour, announced earlier this week they were abandoning the series following a bomb blast in Karachi. Bureau Report
Earlier this year, England's World Cup campaign was overshadowed by a protracted row over whether the team should play a fixture in Zimbabwe where Mugabe has been accused of human rights abuses and blamed for the economic situation in the famine-ravaged African state.
Eventually, England did withdraw just days before the March match was due to take place but solely for safety reasons after the ECB had resisted British government pressure to call the game off in protest at Mugabe. England were docked points for failing to play a World Cup match, a move that helped them to a first round exit.
The issue led to damaging splits within English cricket between players and administrators as well as between England and other cricket nations unhappy at what they saw as the ECB's insulting prevarication.
As part of an attempt to repair relations Maclaurin's successor, the current ECB chairman David Morgan, addressed a meeting of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union where it was confirmed that England would tour there in 2004. But with Mugabe showing no sign of stepping down, Maclaurin said, "We do not want to support a side that goes and plays in a country with the sort of regime that is reviled not just by this company but by many in the country. To do so would be abhorrent."
ECB chief executive Tim Lamb said, "We are very mindful of the issues that arose before the World Cup and we will need to give serious consideration to the feeling of our sponsors."
Vodafone and the ECB are currently halfway through a four-year sponsorship deal worth 3 million pounds (5 million dollars) per year.
But withdrawal could expose the ECB to more financial penalties from the International Cricket Council (ICC) who withheld 3.5 million dollars of England's World Cup cut in lieu of compensation claims following their Harare boycott.
The global governing body wants to protect the integrity of its world test championship which runs over a five-year period.
Sanctions are in place if teams pull out from their agreed touring obligations. These were threatened after South Africa, who have now gone ahead with their Pakistan tour, announced earlier this week they were abandoning the series following a bomb blast in Karachi. Bureau Report