Outrage as Mugabe bans cricket tour journalists

Outrage as Mugabe bans cricket tour journalists

Zimbabwe, Feb. 24 — Robert Mugabe has banned nine UK media organisations, including the BBC, from covering England's five-day cricket tour in Zimbabwe in the latest twist to the controversial visit, which could now see England pull out.

Mugabe refused to give a reason for the ban, leading to renewed moves for England pulling out without any penalties.

England's cricket team have since asked the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Ehsan Mani, whether Zimbabwe's decision to bar most British media is grounds to cancel a tour, who responded by saying there would be "a huge amount of sympathy" for England if they withdrew from their tour of Zimbabwe following the ban on 13 British journalists.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said the tour would go ahead despite the ban, but Mani's comments could provide the get-out clause needed to put an end to 18 months of wrangling and scrap the controversial trip.

International cricket rules do not explicitly provide for the universal access of foreign media, but Mani hinted that England could pull out without penalty.

Last night, BBC TV and radio, The Sun, The Times, the Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times and News of the World were informed by the Department of Information in Harare that Mugabe's government had refused them accreditation for the tour of one-day internationals, the first match of which starts this Friday.England’s cricketers have just completed the second of two warm-up matches in Namibia.