"I don't often allow myself to be dragged into the political arena, but there is something about this situation that makes me angry. I know Zimbabwe well enough to be aware of the immense injustice there. The government alone has the power to initiate a decision, and if British sport is to be seen to have any soul, or even the British nation, then the government must advise the ECB to seek permission to play the match elsewhere." David Gower, former England captain, in a column in the Sunday Times

"I would not be able to live with the situation in Zimbabwe. I would feel as if I was supporting a system that is not benefitting the nation - it's a decision I took with South Africa a long time ago when I refused to go. Sometimes we need to look at the wider issues and not hide behind the excuse that politics shouldn't get in the way of sport. We need to look at the consequences of our actions and think about who's involved." Gladstone Small, former England seamer and spokesman for the Professional Cricketer's Association

"We've had our fair share of problems but we are working our way through that to continue farming and make a living. Cricket is a huge foreign currency and Zimbabwe needs the foreign currency provided by the game of cricket. I believe sport and politics can't mix, and we're looking forward to hosting those matches. The security of the teams coming here is perfect. I think things should go ahead." Heath Streak, Zimbabwe captain

"This decision will damage the image of cricket and may come back to haunt the ICC. Not only have they demonstrated indifference to the pain and suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, they are also, albeit inadvertently, sending a message of hope to the despotic Mugabe regime." Paul Themba Nyathi, spokesman for the Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change

"We are very happy with the decision; we thought it was the correct one. We are delighted to be able to play the six games at home. It is great news for our supporters and for the man in the street who loves his cricket." Vince Hogg, chief executive of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union

"I don't think anybody likes what's going out there, sportsmen included. Even if the tour is cancelled, would that make any difference at all to Mr Mugabe? In South Africa it might have done because they are much more sport-oriented, but I'm not sure it will do in Zimbabwe." Mike Gatting, who led England's rebel tour to South Africa in 1989 and famously described protests as just people "singing and dancing"

"That is a hypothetical question. We simply don't make political judgements, they're for politicians." ICC president Malcolm Gray when asked whether he would have sanctioned a cricket tour to Nazi Germany

"English cricket threw itself wholeheartedly into a publicity stunt on behalf of the corrupt and ruinous regime of a corrupt and half-ruined country. It is Christmas that approaches, not Easter. It seems a little early for the washing of hands, but the ICC delegates did Pilate's job yesterday." Simon Barnes, The Times

"Let nobody doubt the damage that [visitng Zimbabwe] would do to the game of cricket and to this country. But some leading cricketers do doubt it. It is unfair to single us out, they cry. They should be aware how sorely cricket is in need of friends. If it dallies with Mugabe at this point, it will lose a lot of them, deservedly so." Lead editorial in the Daily Telegraph, London

"It is a forlorn thought but I hope that somewhere in the ranks of England's cricketers there dwell players capable of seeing the broader picture and having the courage to stand up and be counted. The ICC, in its infinite wisdom, has decreed that, as far as the World Cup is concerned, everything in Zimbabwe is fine and dandy and never mind that in the time it has taken to write this, another child has probably died of starvation in Robert Mugabe's dictatorship." Mike Selvey, The Guardian

"There's a strong politcal point to be made here, but you won't hear anything about that coming out of the ECB." David Gower, former England captain turned commentator

"Politics and sports do mix. The players should be canvassed to see what they think." Graham Gooch, former England captain who went on a rebel tour in 1982

"It's incredibly unfair to single out cricketers. We've got to use every opportunity to say on behalf of these poor, suffering people that the world is not going to do anything to give credit to Mugabe." Chris Broad, a member of Gatting's 1989 rebel tour to South Africa

"I believe it to risk debasing the great game of cricket by associating with an evil, murderous dictator like Mugabe." Michael Ancram, the UK's shadow Foreign Secretary

"If journalists end up in other parts of the country outside Bulawayo and Harare, I would say they are going over the line." ICC source quoted in the Times

"The side that I'm more interested in is the players' safety. The question I would ask is: 'Are the players going to be safe?'" Robert Croft, Glamorgan and England

"It is not for political people to get involved with the World Cup because it has got nothing to do with them." Aftab Habib, Leicestershire and England

"Cricket is different. We're not into politics." Dennis Amiss, former England batsman and chairman elect of the England management committee

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