Ian Botham has joined the growing controversy on whether England fulfil their World Cup fixture against Zimbabwe in Harare on February 13.

Like team skipper Nasser Hussain, England legend Botham believes it is unfair to ask players to judge a sensitive political matter on which the British government should have the final say.

In an interview with London's Daily Mirror, he said, "The situation in Zimbabwe is an area where the government should pull their fingers out and make a stand instead of hanging England's cricketers out to dry.

"I don't think it should be left to the players to make decisions when the consequences go far beyond the boundaries of sport.

"We are well aware of what is going on in Zimbabwe -- the country is being systematically raped and pillaged -- and it's wrong to turn a blind eye to a humanitarian crisis.

"It's no good burying our heads in the sand and hoping it will all go away, because it won't.

"But you can't decide whether we play in Zimbabwe on a show of hands among 15 England players in the dressing room.

"The government needs to get off the fence, spell out its position to the England and Wales Cricket Board, and hopefully common sense will prevail.

"Why on earth they have waited so long to bat an eyelid when Zimbabwe has been crumbling in front of their eyes is beyond me.

"There are 40,000 British passport holders out there who have been ignored for too long already. The way they have been disowned is shameful."

Last week the ECB called for government advice to help it respond to growing calls to withdraw from England's match against the tournament co-hosts in Harare on February 13.

The issue is to be discussed next week when two ministers, Tessa Jowell, secretary of state for culture, media and sport, and Baroness Amos, foreign office minister, meet ECB officials.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney has stated that he would refuse to go if he were asked to play in Zimbabwe.

But International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed insists his board is standing by its decision to go ahead with matches in Harare and Bulawayo and that any team boycotting those fixtures will be punished.

He said in a media interview earlier this week: "If that occurs, and we've talked to the ECB about this, the decision is that if England doesn't play because of political considerations, they will not receive any points from that match; in effect they will forfeit that match.

"If the situation deteriorated and it was unsafe for England to play, the points will be shared. If it's a political decision, however, they will forfeit the points.

"All of the countries due to play in Zimbabwe were represented in the delegation that went to Zimbabwe and so each of those countries, including England, have signed a document on the safety aspect of it.

"I don't see it so much as a moral dilemma. A decision has been taken by the ICC board that the only factor to take into account is safety. We've done that, we've assessed the situation in Zimbabwe with regards to safety, and we've resolved to move forward.

"There have been a number of comments from members of the British government. What we've said consistently is that it's up to the politicians to make political decisions, we make our decisions based on sporting factors and we've done that.

"We've made our decision and the ECB have said that from England's perspective they will abide by that decision, so hopefully we can move forward."

Meanwhile, ECB chief executive Tim Lamb said the cricketing body was concerned about the financial cost of pulling out.

But any ECB hopes of compensation from the government were dashed by Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien, who said in a New Year's Eve radio interview, "Effectively, our view is that we would not compensate on this."

He aded that government ministers and the prime minister had expressed views on the match, but the decision to cancel had to be left with the cricket authorities. "We will talk to them, but I would need an awful lot of convincing before there would be any form of compensation," he remarked.