By Jonathan Agnew BBC cricket correspondent

There was always the feeling that this tour could hit the buffers at the last minute and surely this is the case.

Everyone has jumped through hoops to make this unhappy tour happen, and now it is the Zimbabweans who have scuppered it

Some of English cricket's most senior correspondents, including the BBC, have been banned from entering Zimbabwe, purely at the whim of the Zimbabwe government.

And that has presented as sound a reason as anyone could wish finally to call the tour off.

Even the selection process to determine which of the media is acceptable, and which is not, is bizarre.

No-one has run a more vehement anti-Zimbabwe campaign over several years than the Daily Mail, yet all three journalists from that organisation who applied for accreditation have been accepted!

It is true England have not wanted to go to Zimbabwe, and everyone is aware of the reasons why.

Cricket followers will also be aware of the pressure that has been exerted on the England and Wales Cricket Board by the International Cricket Council.

But this latest development does not represent a contrived opportunity for the board to pull out.

Indeed, it is the ECB's responsibility to abandon the tour here and now.

Morgan has disappointed many with his decision to push on

To hear ECB chairman David Morgan repeating his determination to proceed regardless will have left many feeling deeply disappointed, and questioning the leadership of English cricket.

It might be that Morgan simply wants to be seen to explore every avenue before telling his players not to travel to Zimbabwe.

He will have to be quick, however, because they are due to arrive in Harare on Wednesday afternoon.

Michael Vaughan's men may yet have a say in this. They are consulting Richard Bevan of the Professional Cricketers Association, to gauge his feelings.

As happened in Cape Town 18 months ago the players could very easily, and with justification, take the matters into their own hands.

The fact is that everyone has jumped through hoops to make this unhappy tour happen, and now it is the Zimbabweans who have scuppered it.

That should be the end of the matter.