Time running: England still wait and watch

England’s deeply-divided camp continued to agonise over whether to boycott their World Cup match in strife-torn Zimbabwe by delaying their decision again on Sunday. With Nasser Hussain’s squad and board officials involved in an interminable string of meetings since Friday evening, the development confirmed a significant split over what to do about Thursday’s game in Harare.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tim Lamb, asked about the players, said: “They are in a dilemma. They have been saying that for a number of weeks. We have an awful lot of sympathy for the turmoil they are going through.

Michael Vaughan (L) and Andrew Flintoff leave the team hotel in Cape Town. (Reuters)

“Equally, the ECB is also faced with an intractable situation.”

Lamb added that, “It’s important to try and reach a decision which is acceptable to all three parties involved, the ECB, the players and their representatives.”

ECB spokesman Andrew Walpole added: “The situation is evolving by the hour.”