ECB Hit Hard For Boycott

The decision was made during the ICC's two-day executive board meeting in Johannesburg.

Each full member country is guaranteed around £5.75million for participating in the tournament through the deal with broadcasters Global Cricket Corporation.

However, England will not receive 40 per cent of their bounty because the ICC are retaining the cash in anticipation of a compensation claim from GCC.

New Zealand have had £1.66million of their tournament money held back for the same reason, following the decision not to travel to Nairobi to play Kenya.

As with England, who refused to fulfil the February 13 fixture in Harare, New Zealand cited security fears.

The disparity in the amounts withheld was down to the attraction of each individual contest, according to ICC president Malcolm Gray and chief executive Malcolm Speed.

"We are prudently holding some of those monies back and it is just a judgment at this stage at the possible extent of the damage," said Gray.

"That judgment is that a match between England and Zimbabwe is worth more than a match between Kenya and New Zealand."

The issue could drag on for 12 months with GCC yet to notify the ICC of their claim; the governing body would on receiving one make a subsequent claim against each individual board.

In turn the individual boards may challenge the ICC's decision through an arbitration process.

The amount the England and Wales Cricket Board were withheld was calculated by dividing the £125million guaranteed by GCC by 54, the number of matches scheduled in the six-week tournament.

"The average match was about £2.33million, some matches are worth significantly more," said Speed. "For example, India versus Pakistan was a very big sporting, commercial event.

"England against Zimbabwe was an average match in the scheme of things."

Two un-named countries at the board meeting argued that England's price should have been higher during the voting process but it was passed at the level set out in the original proposals, without challenge by ECB chairman David Morgan.

He said he was not surprised by the amount set but remained confident that the temporary loss would eventually be regained by using evidence during the arbitration process that Zimbabwe was unsafe for an English team.

"We believe we have a very good case for obtaining those monies in due course," said Morgan. "Voting against it would have done no good at all."