The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) has reiterated that it plans to discharge its International Cricket Council (ICC) contractual obligations to play a fixture against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe as part of the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup.

ACB Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said Australia is scheduled to play six games in the World Cup preliminary round schedule in February and March, with five games in South Africa and one, on 24 February, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city.

"Our long-standing position as cricket administrators has been that we will go to Zimbabwe unless there are safety or security risks," said Mr Sutherland.

"I was part of the recent ICC delegation which inspected safety and security issues in Zimbabwe and the ACB supports the subsequent ICC report finding that safety and security arrangements are appropriate."