Thorpe has Zimbabwe tour doubts

Graham Thorpe today became the second senior England cricketer to publicly indicate he could pull out of the tour to Zimbabwe.

Despite reservations, the England and Wales Cricket Board has accepted that the autumn tour is almost certain to go ahead.

Mark Butcher last week cast doubt on his willingness to travel to Zimbabwe and now Thorpe, England's premier middle-order batsman, has followed his lead.

"I don't agree with what is going on in Zimbabwe but I am a cricketer," said the Surrey batsman, who was not a part of the World Cup squad that forfeited last year's fixture in Harare. "I can't definitely say I would tour."

Foreign secretary Jack Straw and culture secretary Tessa Jowell will again air the Government's misgivings over the tour when they hold a meeting with the ECB next week. But it is not expected to lead to a directive not to tour.

Thorpe added: "It is unfair to feel under pressure to make a decision about whether to tour. It is a bit hard to be throwing moral judgements at cricket when that is what they (the Government and the ECB) do for a living. But playing for England is like being in the army - sometimes they have to go to places they don't want to as well."