Lord MacLaurin was formerly the boss of the ECB

The England and Wales Cricket Board's former chief Lord MacLaurin is chairman of the telecommunications group.

And he believes a tour to the strife-torn country - ruled by controversial President Robert Mugabe - could damage the reputations of both his company and Michael Vaughan's side.

England hosted Zimbabwe earlier this year and are set to visit the African nation at the end of 2004.

MacLaurin, 66, told The Guardian: "We do not want to support a side that goes and plays in a country with the sort of regime that is reviled not just by this company but by many in the country.

We have told the ECB that we would rather the team did not go to Zimbabwe Lord MacLaurin

"To do so would be abhorrent and would be good for the brand image neither of Vodafone nor England cricket.

"We have told the ECB that we would rather the team did not go to Zimbabwe.

"We believe in the cold light of day, and having had the experience of the World Cup, that it would be inappropriate for the tour to take place and as major sponsors we would certainly urge them to withdraw."

England pulled out of a World Cup fixture in Harare earlier this year for safety reasons.

They also received political pressure to pull out on moral grounds.

ECB chief executive Tim Lamb admitted his board would consider the sponsor's views and insisted the tour was under constant review.

Lamb told the same newspaper: "Of course we have concerns too and have expressed them. It is a regular item of discussion at meetings that deal with England matters.

"We are very mindful of the issues that arose before the World Cup, and we will need to give serious consideration to concerns expressed by our sponsors.

"There has been no suggestion that Vodafone would pull the plug although we fully understand their image concerns."

Vodafone is the world's biggest mobile phone company. Its African investments include telecoms businesses in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Lesotho and Congo.