England cricket officials say they will ask for compensation from the British Government if they decide to pull out of their controversial World Cup match in Zimbabwe.

The request will be made at a meeting next week between ministers and officials from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

But Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien said on Tuesday it was very unlikely the government would compensate the ECB if the match was cancelled.

Effectively our view is that we would not compensate on this Mike O'Brien, Foreign Office Minister

England are due to play a match against the tournament's co-hosts in Harare in February.

ECB chief executive Tim Lamb said the cricketing body was concerned about the financial cost of pulling out.

International boycott

The board faces the prospect of incurring a significant financial penalty from the International Cricket Council (ICC), which organises the World Cup.

Mr Lamb said: "We want to make sure that we'll be fully indemnified for going along with the government's wishes."

He said the board would discuss the "potential financial and contractual ramifications" of not playing at the meeting with the government next week.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has called for an international boycott of all the matches due to take place in Zimbabwe next year, saying action by one country would be insufficient.

The row has blown up because of the human rights record of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's regime.

But the ECB's hopes of any compensation from the government were not echoed by Foreign Office Minister Mr O'Brien, who told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Effectively our view is that we would not compensate on this."

'Lot of convincing'

He said government ministers and the prime minister had expressed views on the match, but the decision to cancel had to be left with the cricket authorities.

"We will talk to them, but I would need an awful lot of convincing before there would be any form of compensation," he said.

Speaking on the same programme ICC president Malcolm Gray confirmed there would be "financial consequences" for any country pulling out of the competition, but he refused to put a figure on the amount.

He said the ICC would want the matches with Zimbabwe to continue. But the cricketing body did not have the "mandate" to decide on any political implications, he added.

John Howard: 'Sorry' about ICC's position

Mr Howard said the Australian Government would not force its team, which is due to play in Bulawayo on 24 February, to forfeit their match.

"My view on this is that either all the teams play in Zimbabwe as scheduled or none of them do," he said.

Further pressure on the England team not to travel has come from Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who said captain Nasser Hussain would be "endorsing" Mr Mugabe's regime if he came to the country.

Meeting schedule

The British Government said on Monday night it had agreed to an ECB request to hold talks with it about the match.

Mr Lamb will meet Tessa Jowell, secretary of state for culture, media and sport and Baroness Amos, Foreign Office minister, next week.

The government said it recognised the ECB would be seeking "advice and information", but again stressed the decision on whether or not to participate was ultimately one for the board itself.

England are due to play one match in Zimbabwe

Mr Mugabe's regime has provoked worldwide condemnation for the policy of seizing land owned by white farmers and for using systematic violence against political opponents.

A Zimbabwe High Commission spokesman accused the British Government of "double standards" because it had taken no action to stop UK businesses trading in Zimbabwe.

Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has urged Tony Blair to put "maximum pressure" on the cricketing authorities and the Commonwealth not to hold the World Cup in Zimbabwe.