The organisers of Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup have denied allegations that a senior Qatari soccer official made payments in order to win support for the bid.

The International Cricket Council have promised to give a written response tomorrow to the England and Wales Cricket Board to their request to move England’s controversial World Cup opener from Zimbabwe.

A question mark was today still hanging over the England cricket team’s opening World Cup match in Zimbabwe on Thursday as the wrangle over security concerns surrounding the game continued.