England players might boycott Zimbabwe under Mugabe's regime

London, Jun 11 (UNI) While the voices against the violation of human rights in Zimbabwe continue to grow shriller, England players have hinted that the 2009 series against the African nation might be boycotted.

''In the past there've been opportunities for the government to show the strength of feeling among the general population here and the government chose not to. If it comes down to players to do that, we'll definitely have to look at it,'' England opener Andrew Strauss said at the MCC Spirit of Cricket evening here at Lord's.

At an event where the guests included the ECB chairman Giles Clarke, Strauss put forward his views saying that if Robert Mugabe stays in power then there was a real chance that some of the team members would not be prepared to play against Zimbabwe.

''There's a feeling on previous tours that the players have been left in the lurch by both the government and the ECB. There's a great sense among the general population that our last tour to Zimbabwe shouldn't have gone ahead. It's come down to a certain extent to personal preference and there have been some tough decisions made in previous tours.

''When we come round to the issue again we all hope that the political situation in Zimbabwe is very different. But if it isn't there are going to be more very difficult decisions to be made,'' he added.

As a member of a panel along with Barry Richards and Mike Brearley, in a question-and-answer session which followed Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Spirit of Cricket lecture at Lord's.

Richards too joined in Stauss and said the ICC had missed an opportunity in not taking action against Zimbabwe before.

''I think the ICC are erring and it frustrates the hell out of me that Zimbabwe have not been brought to book. It's a moral issue and what he (Robert Mugabe) is doing everybody knows is simply not right ... cricket can play a part in that and it's not,'' Richrds said.

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