The decision of ICC to allow World Cup matches in Zimbabwe to go ahead will surprise few but disappoint many. What really sticks in the throat is the litany of excuses trotted out by Malcolm Gray, ICC president, and Tim Lamb, ECB chief executive, to justify their findings.

Both men insisted that Zimbabwe is a "troubled country" in rather the same way that they might casually observe that Bangladesh are struggling a little to find their feet at Test level. But once that minor matter had been dealt with, they hammered home the point that no government had resorted to official sanctions, and where governments led they were only too willing to follow.

Lamb's comments revealed the reason behind the decision: money. "There is no logical reason," he said, "why ECB as a commercial business should be singled out and penalised in comparison to other commercial organisations." That's OK then. Keep your head down, try to avoid what's going on around you, and take the cash.

The fact that the Commonwealth has suspended Zimbabwe seems to be irrelevant. Neither should the comments of the USA, not renowned for getting too involved in Africa, that it is considering "intrusive, interventionist measures" to try and prevent mass starvation be allowed interfere with ICC's jewel in the crown.

Given that Mugabe is head of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (who would dare to oppose him?), there is every chance that come the World Cup he will be seen hobnobbing with the likes of Gray and Lamb. In terms of using sport for publicity the photos of that meeting will be as much propaganda as was the infamous image of the England football side giving a Nazi salute in Berlin in 1938. At the time they too thought that they were doing right and that sport and politics should not mix.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd