Australian Prime Minister John Howard has ordered the country’s national cricket team to cancel their planned tour of Zimbabwe later this year. The Australian government had previously outlined its determination to scrap the tour in protest over Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s regime. Howard said on Sunday he had instructed Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to contact Cricket Australia (CA) to tell them the planned one-day series in September would be cancelled. “The government through the foreign minister has written to the organisation of Cricket Australia instructing that the tour not go ahead,” Howard told ABC radio on Sunday. CA chief executive James Sutherland said while he accepted the government’s responsibility to make decisions about international relationships, his organisation would need time to assess the implications of a pullout. “Given our commitment to help Zimbabwe cricket develop, we will now explore the possibility of playing the three ODIs we are due to play against Zimbabwe in September at a neutral venue,” he said. Captain Ricky Ponting said he respected the decision, though he added he was aware of Australia’s responsibilities to play ICC member and non-member countries. “I’m comfortable that the Australian government has taken the responsibility for making international affairs decisions on behalf of the country,” he said.
