London: Zimbabwe was given the go-ahead to host World Cup matches next year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Thursday. Two days ago, a British government minister had called on England to pull out of its opening match in Harare on February 13 in protest at the policies of its President Robert Mugabe. But the ICC has upheld a report by its inspection team which supported Zimbabwe as hosts. Zimbabwe is scheduled to stage six matches after the tournament gets underway on February 8 although the bulk of fixtures will take place in South Africa, with two also set to be played in Kenya.

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ICC on verge of announcing Zim WC status decision

Tags: cricket, london, zimbabwe, world cup, international cricket council, icc, british government minister, england, president robert mugabe, south africa, kenya.