da dobrowin： Australia has withdrawn from its scheduled tour of Zimbabwe.
Lynn McConnell27-Mar-2002Australia has withdrawn from its scheduled tour of Zimbabwe.Citing safety and security concerns for the team and its management, theAustralian Cricket Board (ACB) had little choice but to accept the advice ofa number of government and non-government sources who had identified anincreasing risk for the Australian side.The postponement of the tour is the latest in an increasing number ofpolitical factors on the international cricket scene.Last year New Zealand postponed their October tour of Pakistan after theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the New Zealandwomen had their tour of India cancelled due to the inability of India toprovide security for the side while the Afghanistan conflict was takingplace.The last occasion an Australian side was unable to tour a country was duringthe 1996 World Cup when the team was unable to play scheduled games in SriLanka when player safety there could not be guaranteed.Australia’s position in Zimbabwe was the result of increasing unrest thereafter the recent election and the subsequent suspension of Zimbabwe from theCommonwealth.The chairman of the ACB, Bob Merriman said: “Given this situation, the ACBhas now advised the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) that the Australian cricketteam is unable to travel to Zimbabwe in the current climate but that we arevery keen to re-schedule the games in the next two years.”This is a decision that the ACB has deliberated on deeply and it isrecognised that it will impact most on the cricket community withinZimbabwe. This is something that is deeply regretted.”Nevertheless, the safety of the players and team management must takeprecedence and I hope that there are other initiatives that the ACB and theZCU can adopt that will provide much needed support to the game inZimbabwe.””Over the last week, the advice we have received from our own securityadvisors, the High Commissioner in Zimbabwe, the Department of ForeignAffairs and from other sources within the country has clearly indicated thatthe situation is worsening for Australians in particular and that there arenow real and unacceptable risks to our people should they travel toZimbabwe.”