Bangalore: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced that its security delegation will arrive in Zimbabwe on November 26, to begin a three-day inspection of the security arrangements and preparations ahead of the World Cup 2003, according to an official press release.

The delegation headed by ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed will be reviewing security arrangements for all teams scheduled to play in Zimbabwe, to ensure that any real or perceived security concerns held by the countries playing in Zimbabwe are identified and addressed. The ICC delegation will include: Australian Cricket Board chief executive James Sutherland, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary S K Nair, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tim Lamb, Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) director Ian Frykberg, Koninklijke Nederlanse (Holland) Cricket Board (KCB) team manager Hans Mulder, Namibian Cricket Board (NCB) president Laurie Pieters, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director Chishty Mujahid, Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) chief executive Vince Hogg and Federation of International Cricket Associations (FICA) joint chief executive Tim May, the release said. The delegation will also be accompanied by security and insurance experts. ICC president Malcolm Gray stressed that the only issues to be considered by the ICC would be security and safety for the teams and officials in Zimbabwe. "The ICC and its members are only concerned with cricket related issues," Gray said. "The political issues surrounding Zimbabwe are matters for politicians. While some countries have imposed specific sanctions on Zimbabwe, no government in any part of the world has identified sporting sanctions as an appropriate tool to achieve a political outcome. "Zimbabwe has competed in the recent Commonwealth Games, is taking part in the Davis Cup and its players continue to represent their country in golf," he said. "Each ICC member scheduled to play in Zimbabwe has committed to playing there subject to satisfactory resolution of any safety and security concerns. It is these issues that the delegation will focus on," he said. Prominent Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak has already strongly supported the games being played in his country. "I'm hopeful the matches will go ahead as planned and I believe it's very important they do. Taking the games away would be financially devastating for our cricket," he said recently, emphasising that the country was safe for all teams. "There's certainly no problem in Zimbabwe at the moment - the security is absolutely fine. All our families are there - we certainly don't have any problems and we're confident the six group matches will go ahead in Zimbabwe." The delegation will assemble in Harare on November 26 and spend the next three days in both Harare and Bulawayo, the release added.
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Thatscricket Special: World Cup 2003

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