Cricket Australia has called off its one-day tour of Zimbabwe, scheduled for September, after the Australian Government issued instructions that the team should not travel to the crisis-torn African country. John Howard, the Prime Minister, who played a key part in the decision, will be applauded by the majority of the cricketing community for refusing to allow the tyrannical regime of President Robert Mugabe the sort of propaganda victory that the tour would have provided.

Howard’s no-nonsense stand contrasts with the refusal of the British Government to order England not to play in Harare in the 2003 World Cup. After much procrastination, England eventually took the decision themselves not to visit Zimbabwe, claiming that their security could be endangered. They were fined heavily by the ICC, but as Australia have been instructed not to tour by their Government, they will not receive an expected fine of $2 million (about £1 million). Even if they had been fined, the Australian Government said they would have paid the sum.

Howard has long been a vocal critic of Mugabe, whose well-documented torture and physical beatings of political opponents caused the Australian Prime Minister to compare the octogenarian’s secret police to those in Nazi Germany.

“The Mugabe regime is behaving like the Gestapo towards its political opponents,” Howard said. “The living standards in the country are probably the lowest of any in the world and you have an absolutely unbelievable rate of inflation. I have no doubt that if this tour had gone ahead, it would have been an enormous boost to this grubby dictator.”

Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said that he was neither “pleased nor displeased” by the Australian Government’s order. “Mr Howard’s decision is not surprising,” Speed, also an Australian, said. “Talking to people in Australia over the last two weeks or so, it became clear the Australian Government has been heading for this decision.

“From an ICC perspective, we have an agreement between our member countries that they will tour unless there is acceptable noncompliance. One part of that is if a government or public authority imposes a restrictional prohibition and that’s what’s happened here.

“Last year, politicians in England were making a lot of statements about cricket in Zimbabwe and expressing very strong opinions that England should not tour.

“But they fell well short of giving a restrictional prohibition which is what we’ve been saying is required. In this case, a government has come out and said they’ve prohibited their team from going to Zimbabwe. That’s the clarity we’ve been seeking.”

Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, backed the Government’s decision. “I’m comfortable the Australian Government has taken the responsibility for making international affairs decisions on behalf of the country,” he said. “I’ve never had a problem playing against international cricketers from Zimbabwe and as a playing group, the Australian squad understands its responsibility to spread the word of cricket throughout the world by playing against all member countries.”

Speed revealed that the planned one-day series between Zimbabwe and Australia may still be played in a neutral country, such as South Africa. “That will be for the two Boards to work out, but we would encourage them to look at all options,” he said. “From an ICC perspective, we will work with Zimbabwe Cricket and our members to try to ensure the game there gets the support it needs in order to continue at this difficult time. It is unfortunate for Zimbabwe’s cricketers – and supporters– all of whom need exposure to top-quality cricket in order to develop as players and to encourage future generations to take up the sport.”

Gordon Brown will be spared any similar moral dilemmas when he replaces Tony Blair as Prime Minister, at least in the short term. Although England are expected to host a two-Test series against Zimbabwe in 2009, they are not scheduled to tour there until early 2012.

ICC regulations

The Future Tours Program Agreement (FTPA) provides sanctions against Members that do not comply with their obligations under the FTPA. A Member that does not comply with its obligation to tour another Member is subject to a penalty of a minimum of $2 million or such greater amount that the host Member can prove to have lost as a result of the failure to tour.

This is not an ICC fine. It is a contractual obligation between the respective Members and if a Member fails to fulfil that obligation, then it would have to pay the Member against which it is defaulting.

In certain circumstances, a Member will be excused from its obligations to visit or host another member (acceptable noncompliance).

If there are circumstances likely to give rise to a serious risk of death or personal injury to the players . . . or if the government of one of the Members refuses “to grant a consent, exemption, approval or clearance or imposes any restriction or prohibition” for its team to tour another country.

In 2005, the New Zealand Government refused permission for the Zimbabwe cricket team to enter the country. No contractual sanctions were imposed.