Jul 2, 2005, 0:29 GMT
Sydney - New Zealand will play matches in Zimbabwe next month rather than incur massive fines for breaking International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said in Wellington on Saturday.
New Zealand had lobbied the ICC to ban Zimbabwe from international cricket after hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless through evictions ordered by President Robert Mugabe.
"It's a fact of life that we have no choice but to proceed with this tour," Snedden said on his return from talks in London with ICC officials. "We have a contractual commitment to Zimbabwe cricket and to the other eight test-playing countries," he was quoted as saying by the Dominion Post.
Snedden also said that Wellington's decision to deny visas to the Zimbabwe cricket team, due to tour in December, would cost millions of dollars in lost earnings and end New Zealand's chances of hosting the 2011 World Cup.
The tour of Zimbabwe is now certain to proceed unless the New Zealand government, along with support from Britain and Australia, can prevail on the ICC to ban Zimbabwe from international cricket because of human rights abuses.
The New Zealand government has said it would prefer the team to stay at home for fear that touring would burnish Mugabe's international credibility.
"I think it's important to put it on the record just how we feel, not only about the situation in Zimbabwe but about the ICC, which apparently can turn a total blind eye to the huge abuses of human rights that are occurring there and say, 'Well, just play on regardless'," New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff said last week.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has joined calls for the ICC to ban Zimbabwe. "Given the level of human rights abuses that are now taking place in Zimbabwe it's not appropriate for cricket matches to be played against Zimbabwe," Downer said.
Britain has also called on the ICC to take action against Zimbabwe.
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