England’s stance over the Zimbabwe crisis hardened yesterday. They are planning to offer compensation to Zimbabwe’s cricket board rather than make another tour of the country while Robert Mugabe is in power, and they will immediately abandon the current series of four one-day matches if the Zimbabwean president or any members of his government turn up at the games, the first of which is in Harare today.

It is understood that the players will simply walk from the field and end the tour if Mugabe arrives, on the basis that his presence would breach one of several confidential guarantees given to the team by the Zimbabwean authorities before the players left home. England were assured that no attempt would be made to politicise the tour; Mugabe’s presence would be viewed as doing just that.

The team will also pull out if members of the media are harassed or if any spectators attempting peaceful demonstrations inside or outside the ground are arrested. There were 80 arrests when spectators demonstrated at three World Cup matches in Bulawayo last year. Many were held in inhumane conditions for several days and were severely beaten before being fined and released.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is desperate to avoid another public- relations disaster on the scale of the current one. It is understood to be looking at offering compensation to Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) rather than undertake another tour of the country. Under the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) tour programme, England are obliged to play a Test series there some time within the next few years.

That England have no intention of touring again until Mugabe is gone was plain from the comments on Friday of ECB chairman David Morgan about this tour bringing about “closure” to the Zimbabwe affair.

England recently began building up reserve funds in case compensation is required for a failure to fulfil fixtures under the ICC tour programme.

Zimbabwe would undoubtedly claim a substantial loss in revenue from the scrapping of what would probably be two Tests, but their national team is so weak that their matches arouse little interest from broadcasters or sponsors. The figure would probably be well under £2m — a loss the ECB could certainly sustain.

However, a possible stumbling block is that ZC, which has close ties to the government, is not as short of funds as some reports suggest, and it would much prefer to stage the matches, if only to show the world that it can still host international events.

It has also emerged that the Australian umpire Darrell Hair, a member of the ICC’s international panel due to stand in the second game on Wednesday, has told the ICC that he does not want to officiate in matches in Zimbabwe again.

Yesterday, after the team underwent its first full practice session in four days at the Harare Sports Club, Michael Vaughan, the captain, sought confirmation from Morgan that the team would not be put in a position to meet government ministers.

“It was made clear before the tour, and I’ve just had confirmation from David Morgan, that the team will not be put in the position to shake any government member’s hand,” Vaughan said. “The (future of the) tour will be really looked at if something like that happens. We have a plan, but I can’t say what that is.”

Mugabe’s principal residence is next to the Harare Sports Club, where England play matches today and Wednesday.

The tour is deeply unpopular with the public and with England’s players, one of whom, Steve Harmison, refused to come. It was almost abandoned last week when Zimbabwe refused to accredit 13 journalists from organisations including The Sunday Times, a clear breach of a guarantee regarding treatment of the media.