Looks like the England tour will be going ahead...

[maehara]

UK government statement:

"The Foreign Secretary and others in this government have made it clear that we do not encourage the ECB to allow Zimbabwe to tour England in 2009 or England to tour Zimbabwe in 2012 if the situation in the country is as it is now. We continue to speak to the ECB about these issues but it remains a decision for the board. We have decided that the government can make their position clear, but that it is not for us to intervene directly in this matter."

Emphasis added. If the government don't intervene, then the ECB would incur an ICC fine for cancelling the tour - and the chances of them going down that road are remote.

[Train Driver]

I'm going to have a search through the internet to see if I can buy a ticket for the 1st test, anyone else going ?, we might be able to get a discount for a bulk purchase.

[Train Driver]

Well, it all seems to have blown up again with the BBC reporting that the UK Government are considering a complete ban on Zimbabwean athletes from playing in the UK.

This would cover the likes of Kirsty Coventry, Cara and Byron Black, Nick Price and the Zim cricket team, I assume it would also put Benjani in a position where he could be stopped from playing football.

The reports seem to be going over old ground again at the moment, it will be interesting to see what comes out in the next couple of days.

BBC make the point that it is unlikely that any decision would be made until after the elections in march, now that's a surprise

[CrimsonAvenger]

Well, it all seems to have blown up again with the BBC reporting that the UK Government are considering a complete ban on Zimbabwean athletes from playing in the UK.

Just read that article on BBC, and this is utter nonsense. What are they saying? They will stop the world doubles no.1 in womens tennis from playing the Wimbledon? Not playing there might cost Cara Black her top ranking, which she has held on to for years now. I can't believe Henry Olonga endorsing the move. Hope common sense prevails.

[maehara]

They were talking about it on 5Live this morning, and there were already signs of some backtracking - there are a lot of Zimbabwean sportsmen plying their trade in the UK, and a complete ban on them would be impractical & unpopular - in addition to Cara Black, Nick Price is a popular fixture on the senior golf tour & often plays here, and the move may make Andy Flower's position in the England cricket coaching setup untenable. Never mind the other Zimbabweans currently involved in the County cricket setup & the various football leagues. So suddenly the emphasis is back on just making sure the cricket team doesn't tour.

Here's the thing: that strikes me as inherently racist. Ban the majority-black cricket team, while allowing other - mainly white - sportsmen to continue their trade? Isn't that one of the behaviors that the UK government is saying is unacceptable in Zimbabwe? It also goes against the stated policy of "smart" sanctions that target only government ministers, not the normal working Zimbabwean civilian.

But the real issue with any sort of sporting ban is that it simply won't work. Sporting sanctions undoubtedly had an effect against South Africa during the apartheid years, but the situation there was completely different. South Africa knew they were the best in the world at several sports - that belief is as ingrained as religion in the country - and not being able to prove that gnawed away at the national psyche until, on top of other sanctions, something had to give. That sporting psyche doesn't exist in Zimbabwe - and even if it did, Mugabe wouldn't care. If anything, a ban just gives him one more thing to add to his list of "oppressive Western moves" against the country, and would only increase his sense of persecution and righteous anger - hardly constructive, given the circumstances.

I could go on, but that probably covers the majority of my thoughts on this...

[Maraicha]

I was just looking through the BBC website when I saw that they are threatening the Zim tour of England again . Not only are they on cricket but they have also started looking at Zim sport in general. I think this is a load of drivel and Henry Olonga is behaving like a complete idiot . I dont know why he thinks that denying the young Zim squad a chance to play at the Oval will bring inflation down to 1% or so. I am so annoyed with him at the moment I have completely lost it. I was for his and Andy Flower's campaign back in 2003 but now I think he has lost the plot. I am sure most of us are not happy with whats going on with the country, and with Bvute and Co, but to deny this young team a chance to put a smile on the suffering Zimbos is a NO NO. I am sure many out there agree with me. Any comments?
Oh!! By the way, I am sure if we played Bangladesh in a test match today we will beat them, with probably and innings and a day to spare.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Is Makoni on the UK's sanctions list, out of interest? Of course, whatever happens depends on March 29.

[Train Driver]

I would assume that as the former ZANU Secretary of Economic Affairs and Politburo member he would certainly have been on the sanctions list, whether he has automatically been removed since his ZANU expulsion I wouldn't like to guess.

I think it would be fair to say that since his decision to stand in the elections he is probably not the closest friend of Mugabe.

[Maraicha]

I am not sure if he is on the UK travel ban list but I think England should just get our boys to come over. They have nothing to do with politics and just want to play cricket to put a smile on all of us in and out of Zim as we can beat England

[Maraicha]

Hi Train Driver. Good to see someone online.