The International Cricket Council have confirmed that England will not play their World Cup opener against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday.
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told a Cape Town press conference that the fixture had been cancelled after the England and Wales Cricket Board decided not to fulfil it.
"The ECB has told us they will not play match in Harare on Thursday," said Speed.
"The ECB cited safety concerns for the players as their reason for not fulfilling that commitment.
"The ICC give a direction to the ECB to comply and play the match in Zimbabwe. The ECB said today that it does not believe that direction is reasonable.
"Accordingly the ICC has moved to cancel the match which is scheduled for Thursday. The ICC is disappointed that the match will not go ahead."
Speed said the ICC's technical committee would now consider the issue of points from the match.
As to whether the game might be replayed elsewhere at a later date, Speed said: "The ECB has asked the ICC to consider relocating the match to a venue outside Zimbabwe at a later date.
"That process won't be something that will be resolved today.
"The ECB has asked the technical committee to consider new evidence that has come to light since the appeal to Justice Sachs last week.
"I certainly would not assume that the match will be relocated."
PA