Oz Govt will pay if ICC imposes fine

Even as the Australian government stepped up pressure on Cricket Australia to boycott its tour of Zimbabwe in September...

Even as the Australian government stepped up pressure on Cricket Australia to boycott its tour of Zimbabwe in September, captain Ricky Ponting said every player should be allowed to make an independent decision on the issue. 8220;There are some issues there and every individual player will be asked what his own views on that are, and they8217;ll have a chance to make up their own mind what they want to do,8221; Ponting said.

Ponting agreed that more players might follow in the footsteps of Stuart MacGill, the Test leg-spinner who made himself unavailable for the team8217;s 2004 visit of Zimbabwe.

The twice World Cup-winning skipper urged CA to make it clear that it is ultimately an individual players8217; choice whether to be part of the three-match, one-day series in Zimbabwe where a prolonged civil war has resulted in one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises.

8220;I8217;m sure every individual player will be asking himself 8216;should I or shouldn8217;t I be touring Zimbabwe8217;,8221; Ponting was quoted as saying by The Australian. 8220;Cricket Australia will investigate the safety and security issues but the players have got some serious questions to ask themselves.8221;

Ponting8217;s comments came close on the heels of the government offering to compensate whatever loss the CA might incur as fine for pulling out of a series scheduled on the ICC Future Tours Programme.

The government had yet to decide whether to ask Cricket Australia to cancel the tour, planned for later this year, Prime Minister John Howard told a local news channel.

8220;We would indemnify Cricket Australia for any compensation that it might have to pay to the international body8221; he said. 8220;It would not be fair to visit the cost of a foreign policy decision on a sporting body.8221;Australia would have to cough up 2 million to the International Cricket Council if they pull out of the tour.

Vaughan injured, may miss Test

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8226; London: England captain Michael Vaughan is likely to miss at least the first Test against West Indies starting May 17 after suffering a broken finger playing for Yorkshire against Hampshire. Vaughan, who has missed his country8217;s previous 15 Test matches due to a catalogue of other injuries, suffered an undisplaced fracture of his right middle finger after being struck by a delivery from Hampshire8217;s Australian seamer Stuart Clark on Thursday.

The injury is likely to keep Vaughan out for three to four weeks, making him a near-certainty to miss out for the first Test at Lord8217;s and also for the second Test on his home Headingley ground starting on May 25. But the England and Wales Cricket Board ECB said they would maintain a watching brief. 8220;Vaughan will undergo further assessment ahead of the first Test against the West Indies at Lord8217;s on May 17,8221; the board said in a statement. AFP