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Source: Reuters -
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A decision on whether New Zealand cricketers will tour Zimbabwe, could be taken out of their bosses hands.
The Prime Minister may take a stand by removing the players' passports.
"If we send our cricket team to Zimbabwe, we threaten their personal security and safety. We threaten the risk that they might get cholera and we're sending then to a regime we don't support," he says.
But failing to show up for the game comes at a price.
If Cricket New Zealand decide themselves not to go to Zimbabwe they may face a fine of up to $4 million dollars.
If the government forces them not to go, by cancelling their passports for example, they avoid a fine because it is considered out of the cricketers control.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says there is an extreme risk visiting Zimbabwe and advise against all travel at the present time.
New Zealand Cricket is not thrilled about travelling there, but it does not want to foot the bill.
"We would stand to be in the gun for a US $2 million penalty as part of the ICC future tour programme. We have obligations to tour all the members of the ICC. Zimbabwe is one of those," says NZ Cricket Chief Executive Justin Vaughan.
So would the government pay the fine?
"Dunno," says Key.
Labour faced the same issue under its watch. It spoke out against touring there but would not go as far as forcing the cricketers to stay at home.
"We made it very clear that the government would not approve of the tour proceeding but we were not, as a government, prepared to take away New Zealander's passports," says former Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Whether our team will be stopped from going this time will now be put to Cabinet.
