"I don't think it is right that England should be playing a match in Harare on February 13, 2003, or on any other day while the Robert Mugabe regime remains in power in Zimbabwe," Gower wrote in a column Britain's The Sunday Times newspaper.

"Nor do I think the Australians, as the other main Commonwealth nation involved in the same World Cup group, should honour their fixture in Bulawayo 11 days later," he said.

Six matches in the World Cup, taking place primarily in South Africa, are scheduled to be hosted by Zimbabwe, three in Harare involving England, India and Namibia and another three in Bulawayo featuring Australia, Pakistan and the Netherlands.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), the game's world ruling body, announced on Thursday that the World Cup matches would go ahead in the African country.

The ICC said that a 10-man delegation that had monitored the situation in Zimbabwe last month had found "no good reason in terms of the safety and security of the players to relocate any of the six matches."

Fears had been expressed over player safety after political upheaval and violence in Zimbabwe following implementation of the Mugabe government's controversial land reforms.

Gower wrote that the players would almost certainly be safe with the Harare government "bending over backwards" to shelter them from the country's problems and show the world Zimbabwe was a safe place.

But he trashed the ICC view that playing there would be of benefit to the beleaguered Zimbabwean people.

"Just what percentage of that population does (ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed) think will get anywhere near the cricket or benefit from it in any shape or form?" he asked.

Present England captain Nasser Hussain has said he is in no position to do more than follow ICC recommendations.

Other protestors seeking an England boycott of the Zimbabwe matches look set to take their arguments a lot further, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

It said a human rights group called Zimactivism have threatened to dig up the pitches at the two World Cup venues and have been urging Zimbabwe players to pull out of the February 8-March 23 tournament.

Labour MP Frank Field has formed a multi-party group to protest against the Mugabe regime and is calling on the England team to boycott the Zimbabwe matches.