What a stir the Zimbabwe issue is creating.

All of a sudden the question of whether the England cricket team should play there at the start of the World Cup in February has become a matter of such interest that it has been leading news bulletins, not just in this country but worldwide.

But why has it taken so long for this issue to be raised? The World Cup schedule has been known for a long while now, so why all this fuss now?

And why is all the pressure on England? What about the other countries who are due to play there?

My interest is more than a passing one having spent many enjoyable and memorable winters in Zimbabwe earlier in my cricketing career.

What I found then was a wonderfully scenic and hospitable country, somewhat third world in terms of technology and industry but nonetheless one which seemed to be adapting and progressing.

However there were still many reminders of colonialism and even apartheid.

The small population of whites still considered themselves vastly superior to the indigenous blacks and even though everyone was trying to create equal opportunities this was always going to be a long process, with deep grained attitudes amongst the whites very difficult to shake off.

I always thought that this was a potentially explosive situation which would detonate one day.

It was fairly obvious even in 1996 that Robert Mugabe was a forceful character who craved total power, a dictator in the making.

There was no open animosity towards the whites at a public level but I always thought that it was on the cards.

And so it has proved.

The whites were the ones who owned all the magnificently large farms outside the main cities and the ones, through their agricultural output and exports, upon whom the economy of the country seemed to rest.

So Mugabe has seen fit to physically and in some cases murderously take 90 % of these farms away from the whites and allot them back to those who he thinks are their rightful owners.

In simplistic terms there seems an element of justice about this but the problems are more deep rooted and the manner of this land reclamation is odious.

The result is a country in chaos.

The whole world is convinced that the recent elections were rigged so that Mugabe's regime could continue.

My friends out there say that the situation is horrendous.

Food supplies are dwindling, resulting in massive queues for even the most basic of essentials, such as bread and sugar.

The whites are being forced out of the country on a daily basis.

Which brings us to the cricket.

Cricket is not a particularly popular sport among the natives, cricket, despite some mighty strides over recent years, is still viewed as a white man's game.

Most of Zimbabwe's better players are white and while Mugabe may be the patron of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union the World Cup will not be a major event amongst the indigenous population.

However I do feel that if these games do not take place in Zimbabwe then cricket there will be doomed for ever.

It already faces a mighty battle as I hear that most of the white players will be leaving the country after this tournament anyway.

There is even talk that some of them do not themselves think that the matches should go ahead in their country.

It is an unholy mess and one not helped by the dithering of both the Government and the ICC.

It is not up to the England cricketers to make this decision, they are too involved in cricketing matters and do not know enough about the situation to form a measured judgement.

I do not pretend to either, my absence is so lengthy that too much has changed.

However from a distance it is my opinion and, I say this with a heavy heart because it will have devastating implications upon Zimbabwean cricket, I think that the ICC should announce that no games are to be played in Zimbabwe. Changing them to South Africa should not present too many difficulties.

It would not be right to play in a country currently under such a corrupt dictatorship.

How could any of the players look Mugabe in the eye and shake his hand if they were presented to him before one of the games?