London, May 20: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the owners of Lord's cricket ground, have rejected a request from an anti-Robert Mugabe protest group to have a dedicated spot inside the ground when the first Test against Zimbabwe starts there on Thursday. Peter Tatchell, one of the organisers of the stop the tour campaign which wants Zimbabwe's two-test tour of England cancelled in protest at what it says are the human rights abuses carried out by the Zimbabwe President, asked for a spot inside Lord's to make their point.

Tatchell wanted a space to display a protest banner, even though MCC ground regulations ban spectators from bringing in flags and banners.

An MCC executive board meeting turned down Tatchell's request today.

Afterwards MCC spokesman Iain Wilton said: "We're happy for them to have a safe, peaceful and non-disruptive protest outside the ground and so are the police."

A protest is due to take place outside Lord's on Thursday morning. Organiser Washington Ali says it will be a peaceful gathering.

A group of protestors are due to travel through central London on an open-top bus to the Zimbabwe High Commission to hand over a letter to the high commissioner calling for an end to what the protestors called "state sponsored political violence in Zimbabwe".

Protestors will be handing out black armbands to spectators in the hope these will be worn inside the ground while the match is in progress.

Bureau Report