I think sense has prevailed with the row over whether Zimbabwe should be allowed to remain a member of the ICC as well as their participation in the ICC World Twenty20 championship. It’s a shame that politics has to get involved in sport, and it’s rare that it does happen, but given the circumstances in Zimbabwe, their volunteering to drop out is a wise if not unfair move by Zimbabwe Cricket.

For the time being, Zimbabwe Cricket remain a full member of the ICC, although it is expected that there will be further investigations into the possible involvement of the government in cricketing matters, and if it turns out that there is interference, that could lead to them being removed anyway. The ICC claim that politics did not enter their discussions in Dubai this week, but they must surely wonder just who is running cricket in Zimbabwe and whether there is any unsavoury influence.

One of the allegations against Zimbabwe Cricket is that only members of Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party are allowed to play cricket for the country, and you can understand why South Africa and England wish to have nothing to do with them, given the worsening conditions. Peter Chingoka, the president of ZC, feels that he is acting in the best interests of world cricket, informing anyone who is interested that Zimbabwe are open to any offers from countries wishing to play them. But who in their right mind would want to go to Zimbabwe or be seen to be supporting Mugabe’s regime?

The biggest winners from their announcement this week are England and the ECB, who will be allowed to host next year’s championship without threat of having it snatched away, which is important given the revenue they stand to make during the tournament.

The cheapest ticket for the Finals day at Lord’s on June 21 is £50 in the family stand and you only qualify for a ticket there if you take along someone who is under 16. You can’t buy alcohol, either, forcing you to pay £60 or £90 for both finals, while the same is the case for the semi-finals at The Oval. Frankly, that’s ridiculous, even for six to eight hours of cricket it is unreasonable, and the ECB will be rubbing their hands at the amount of money they stand to receive.

Tickets are apparently selling well, and by next year it wouldn’t surprise me if the games are close to being sold out. The cheapest ticket for a double-header day at Trent Bridge isn’t too bad at £35 for a group game if you don’t have a child to take along, but the deeper into the tournament the higher the prices go.