AS Zimbabwe opened its games in the Cricket World Cup in Harare yesterday, two of its leading cricketers launched a blistering attack on the government's appalling human rights record and its lack of commitment to democracy.

Andrew Flower and Henry Olonga, in a scathing statement released just before their Cricket World Cup match against Namibia at Harare Sports Club, said it was time the world knew how they felt about the situation in Zimbabwe.

Olonga, the first black cricketer to make it into the national team, and veteran batsman Flower, bared their souls at a time when it had appeared they were happy to celebrate the coming of the World Cup to Zimbabwe without saying a word about the explosive situation in the country.

Flower, arguably Zimbabwe's greatest player ever, and among the top batsmen in the world, strode on to the field wearing a black armband and Olonga said he would do the same.

In a statement, they said: "In doing so, we are mourning the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe. We are making a silent plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. We pray that our small action may help to restore sanity and dignity to our nation."

The players said they were saddened by the fact that millions of their compatriots were starving, unemployed and oppressed.

They said: "We are aware that hundreds of Zimbabweans may even die in the coming months through a combination of starvation, poverty and Aids. We are aware that many people have been unjustly imprisoned and tortured simply for expressing their opinions about what is happening in the country."

They said they had heard a torrent of racist hate speeches directed at minority groups and pointed out that thousands of Zimbabweans were being routinely denied their right to freedom of expression.

The statement said: "We are aware that people have been murdered, raped, beaten and had their homes destroyed because of their beliefs and that many of those responsible have not been prosecuted. We are aware also that many patriotic Zimbabweans oppose us even playing in the World Cup because of what is happening."

England and Australia have come under tremendous pressure from their governments to boycott fixtures in strife-torn Zimbabwe in protest at the policies of President Mugabe, who is also the patron of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU), who they say rigged his 2002 re-election and whose policies they say triggered mass hunger.

The players said it was impossible to ignore what was happening in the country. They noted that they were simply professional cricketers, but they had "a conscience and feelings".

They said: "We have struggled to think of an action that would be appropriate and that would not demean the game we love so much. We have decided that we should act alone without other members of the team being involved because our decision is deeply personal and we do not wish to use our senior status to unfairly influence more junior members of the squad.

"We would like to stress that we greatly respect the International Cricket Council, and are grateful for all the hard work it has done in bringing the World Cup to Zimbabwe."

The ZCU yesterday said the action by the two players was being considered by the appropriate committee of the union.

Lovemore Banda, the ZCU communications manager, said they were not sure when the committee would issue a statement.

But Banda said: "In the meantime, the union reiterates its position that it is a non-political organisation."

Olonga and Flower have joined a growing list of people and organisations against Zimbabwe's hosting of the cricket matches on the grounds of a worsening political situation and abuse of human rights.

The players' statement is in sharp contrast with what the government has been saying.

Its position has been that all the talk about the absence of the rule of law and democracy is the work of the British government and the Western media, angry over the government's land reform programme. The players are likely to face tough sanctions as they are not allowed to make political statements.