The International Cricket Council has set England a 1600 hrs local time (1930 hrs IST) deadline to decide whether they would go through with their World Cup Group A match against Zimbabwe.

ICC President Malcolm Gray will hold a news conference in Cape Town an hour before the deadline.

The ICC is currently reviewing new security concerns raised by the England team about playing in Harare on Thursday.

England captain Nasser Hussain and his players are considering forfeiting the match because of concerns over social and political unrest in Zimbabwe.