A boycott of Zimbabwe could bankrupt English cricket

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said to ban England would mean changing the law, which would effectively make cricketers criminals if they toured.

He said: "We would have to criminalise otherwise entirely innocent sports people from leaving the country."

The England and Wales Cricket Board is expected to take a final decision on the issue at a meeting on 8 June.

But it seems likely the ECB will confirm the tour because it could face a hefty fine and possible suspension by the International Cricket Council if it pulled out.

The ECB are between a rock and a hard place - put there by others Tessa Jowell

If the tour goes ahead, any moral stand against the Zimbabwe government would then have to be taken by the players individually.

ECB chairman David Morgan said no players would be forced to tour which could mean England sending a squad shorn of several leading players to Zimbabwe.

Morgan said: "The players, like the board are in an invidious position.

"I want to make it clear that the ECB will not force any individual player to tour Zimbabwe if he does not wish to do so as a matter of personal conscience.

"I know that our players, along with the wider cricketing public, appreciate that the decision with which we are faced is a difficult one.

"If we refuse to tour without there being acceptable non-compliance then we face the real threat of very severe sanctions which could have a devastating impact on the well-being of our game."

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell acknowledged the ECB's dilemma.

She said: "The ECB are between a rock and a hard place - put there by others.

"But the Government can't solve that problem - sport is not run by politicians and nor should it ever be.

"The ECB understand this. They have a very tough decision to take and they are not the architect of this dilemma - Robert Mugabe is."