The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) canceled on Wednesday Zimbabwe's tour of England next year under instructions from the British government. In a statement the ECB said the government had given it “a clear instruction that Zimbabwe's bilateral tour scheduled under the ICC Future Tours Program for 2009 should be canceled”. Earlier Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament the government had asked the ECB to stop the tour. “We want to ensure Zimbabwe does not tour England next year and we will call for other countries to join us in banning Zimbabwe from the Twenty20 international tournament,” he added. Zimbabwe was due to play two Test and three one-day matches in May ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup in June. The government's intervention follows increasing violence in Zimbabwe and means the ECB will not face sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for unilaterally canceling a tour. Zimbabwe has been in turmoil since a disputed election in March and the opposition MDC has withdrawn from a presidential run-off with President Robert Mugabe because of the violence. The ECB said it had suspended all bilateral arrangements with Zimbabwe Cricket. Cricket South Africa has already suspended all bilateral programs with its southern African neighbor and the ICC will discuss suspending Zimbabwe from international cricket at an executive meeting in Dubai next Wednesday. – Reuters __
