England's final decision over whether to fulfil their controversial World Cup fixture in Zimbabwe could be made next Tuesday.
The England and Wales Cricket Board today announced that a special management board meeting to discuss the issue will be held then.
A statement from the ECB confirmed the governing body agree with England captain Nasser Hussain that they must take the decision on the behalf of the players over whether to travel for their World Cup opener in Harare on February 13th.
The ECB have come under pressure from Tony Blair's Government to abandon plans to play in Zimbabwe because of Robert Mugabe's repressive regime in that country.
Today's statement read: "On the issue of who should take the final decision about whether the England team plays in Zimbabwe, we fully support Nasser Hussain's view that it is appropriate for the ECB to take the decision and for the players, collectively, to follow the ECB's lead.
"The England players are contracted to the ECB - and, as with other employer-employee relationships, it is entirely right that the ECB provides the lead on this issue."
Next week's meeting will be attended by Tim Munton as a players' representative in place of Richard Bevan, who will be out of the country that day.
It is possible that the issue may rumble on beyond Tuesday with an ECB spokeswoman adding: "It is not necessarily the case that there will be a final decision on Tuesday. There may need to be further discussions with Government after that meeting."