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England's World Cup players are determined to register their anger and dismay at the terms of their World Cup contracts by refusing to sign them until the very last minute of their 'absolute' England and Wales Cricket Board deadline.

The 'final' contracts have been provided by the ECB for the sport's biggest one-day event but the players are maintaining a united front with eight days to go before they must sign or, effectively, go on strike.

The divisive issue, which threatens to cast a shadow over World Cup preparations, is no nearer being settled even though Tim Lamb, the ECB chief executive, emerged from a lengthy meeting with the players in Sharjah after their victory over Pakistan last Monday talking of his confidence that they would soon sign on the dotted line.

Not only have none of them done that yet but there are still a number of issues to be resolved before the 15 players are satisfied with their lot and the ball, it appears, is back in the ECB's court. The cricketers' mood has not been improved, meanwhile, by last week's revelation that England's rugby players stand to earn around twice as much if they win their World Cup this year.

The squad have accepted that there is no more money on offer from a board who have been hit by a £12 million shortfall in World Cup revenue, mainly through lack of sponsorship, but still feel the money could be better distributed. There are also other issues needing urgent attention.

Principal among them is the autocratic way in which the ECB, through international teams director Simon Pack, are insisting that players must ask for permission if they want to see their families during the World Cup 'training camp' in Canterbury from May 2. This astonishing piece of bureaucracy is an unfortunate echo of the tour of Zimbabwe and New Zealand in 1996-97 when families were completely banned, a measure that was seen to be disruptive.

A mature approach would have been to discuss with the England players the code they considered right for the World Cup, as dis- cipline is more likely to be observed by international cricketers if it comes from within. And as the first week will be largely taken up with civic receptions, media interviews and coaching clinics for children, England's bonding process would probably have been enhanced by the presence of wives and girlfriends for a couple of days and nights.

A measure of the players' determination is their adamant refusal to break ranks and talk about the matter while it is at such a crucial stage. They have resolved to stick together, with three unnamed players being nominated as their spokesmen between now and April 26, the ECB's deadline.

That vow of silence was repeated on Friday by Pack, the former Nato commander who was brought into cricket by Lord MacLaurin with no previous experience of the sport and has found himself at the centre of a contract controversy that has rumbled on dangerously close to the opening World Cup game on May 14.

``I'd rather not get involved in discussions on this subject at this moment,'' said Pack. ``It's very delicate.'' Instead it was left to Richard Peel, the ECB's director of corporate affairs, to insist that there was no need to panic.

``It's not a worry,'' said Peel. ``There's still a fair amount of time to go before the deadline and players need that time to go through them. We're optimistic everything will be sorted out.''

That may be so, but the affair is hardly the preparation England would want. It is almost inconceivable that the players would extend the dispute beyond April 26 and take 'strike' action much as the West Indies did at Heathrow in November before their ill-fated tour of South Africa. But they are in no mood to cave in.

England, with bonuses, are on around £45,000 each to win the World Cup plus their county salaries, around an extra £15,000 per man for the duration of the tournament. The initial insulting disparity between those who play during the World Cup and those on the sidelines has now been addressed, but the players still feel a bigger share of the cash should be made available from the group stages.

Monday's meeting, in which Lamb was joined by David Acfield, the Essex chairman and chairman of the ECB's cricket advisory committee, was said to be passionate with players talking about their disenchantment with the way they were being treated. Lamb was left in no doubt about the depth of their feelings.

The ECB say that Alec Stewart, the England captain, was made aware of the crux of the contracts around the time of the Brisbane Test last autumn and that it is unfair to suggest they have been left to the last minute. There is no doubt, however, that Pack's presence in Lahore before the Sharjah event could have eased tensions and avoided this sorry saga.

As it was, the mess was left in the hands of David Graveney, who has had the toughest of times in attempting to keep everybody happy in his multi-role as chairman of selectors, World Cup manager and Professional Cricketers Association official. The outcome was that the players felt huge sympathy for the popular Graveney's predicament and, if a silver lining can be found, it lies in the probability that the squad will be drawn closer together by the 'them and us' dealings.

That will not stop the next week being fraught before, everyone hopes, attention is switched to on-field matters. England will have enough trouble winning the World Cup without the contracts dispute dragging on.