HAMPSHIRE batsman Kevin Pietersen was today waiting to find out whether his debut competitive England international series would be over before its begun.

Pietersen, pictured above, and the rest of Michael Vaughan's tour party are caught in the middle of a massive political storm.

They stayed in South Africa last night instead of catching a flight to Zimbabwe, where the one-day series was due to begin tomorrow.

The decision was made following the ban imposed against sections of the British media covering the one-day series.

The decision by the Zimbabwe government to refuse admission to the majority of the British reporters has sparked frantic negotiations.

England and Wales cricket Board chairman David Morgan instructed the team to remain in Johannesburg while the issue remained unresolved.

John Carr, the ECB's director of cricket, was flying from Harare to meet up with the team today to give them a full briefing.

The outcome of that meeting could decide the future of the tour, which has been widely opposed by politicians and the general public in protest at the regime of president Robert Mugabe and his land reform policies.

But unlike last year, when England withdrew from a World Cup fixture in Harare and had part of their share of the tournament purse withheld, they now have the support of the International Cricket Council in their dispute with Zimbabwe.

England can only withdraw from the tour with the full support of the ICC Executive if they are to avoid sanctions under the Future Tours programme agreed by all the full members earlier this year.