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New Zealand refusal ignites cup
fall-out After weeks of wrangling over World Cup security the fall-out began in earnest yesterday. Martin Snedden, chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, announced that his team would refuse to play their match in Kenya because of fears of terrorist action. Coming only hours after the International Cricket Council had rejected pleas for the match to be moved from Nairobi to South Africa, New Zealand's unilateral decision threatens to leave a large hole in the World Cup's credibility, not to mention its finances. Sources at the ICC say they are still hoping to negotiate a solution, perhaps by organising a meeting between New Zealand's representatives and the security agencies, who have ruled Nairobi to be a safe venue. But it now seems highly unlikely that the fixture will take place. New Zealand's players were caught up in a terrifying terrorist attack in Pakistan last year, when a bomb exploded off outside the team hotel in Karachi. They will not be talked into visiting a city where "active terrorist cells" are operating, in the words of a senior United States security official. Richard Bevan, the England players' representative, expressed sympathy for the New Zealand cause yesterday. England will no doubt follow developments closely as they decide what action to take over their own controversial fixture against Zimbabwe in Harare on Feb 13. But while Nasser Hussain's men might admire the supportive stance taken by Snedden and NZC, they know they cannot expect the same kind of backing from the England and Wales Cricket Board. Speaking in London yesterday, the ECB chairman, David Morgan, said: "I think England in Zimbabwe is a very different situation to New Zealand's regarding Kenya. There are very, very big questions, in my opinion, over the security arrangements in Kenya. "Let's not forget that Australia and the West Indies refused to go to Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup, so perhaps that set a precedent for New Zealand." Morgan added that the ICC had produced a new security report at Thursday's meeting, compiled by risk assessors Kroll Associates, who had raised no grounds for concern. Given the ICC's opposition, and the ECB's inactivity, England's best chance of shifting their game to South Africa may lie in the hands of the lawyers. Bevan said yesterday that legal advice was being sought "over the game's 'duty of care' not only to players, umpires and officials, but supporters and citizens of Harare". He will be flying out to Cape Town next week for meetings with players and ICC security personnel. New Zealand's announcement brought strong criticism from Kenya, where sports minister Najib Balala said: "There are no terror cells in Kenya. Ulterior motive may be too strong a term, but this is politics and we are not being given a fair chance. They are trying to destroy Kenya and they are destroying the image of Africa as well." Jimmy Rayani, the chairman of the Kenyan Cricket Association, called for retribution, arguing that New Zealand should be banned from the World Cup and suspended "for a year or two" from the Test circuit. "We have said all along that their concern about security is misconceived and based on wrong premises," he added. Assuming that the game is cancelled, New Zealand's team will forfeit the four easy points they could have gained, while the board will face financial repercussions. First, there could be yet more procedural wrangling, as NZC have promised to bring a legal challenge, arguing that the ICC's refusal to move the game to South Africa was "not reasonable". Whatever the likely damage to Kenya's development programme, ICC administrators should be most concerned about the way their political manoeuvring has deflected attention from the cricket. If further illustration were needed, yesterday's arrival press conference for the Bangladesh party was cancelled due to lack of interest. Australia levelled the Under-19 Test series against England at 1-1 with a 168-run victory in Melbourne yesterday. England were dismissed for 196, a total inflated by a battling 82 in almost 50 overs for the last wicket from Liam Plunkett, with 49, and Danny Broadbent. The Mulindwas
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