Michael Vaughan at the Harare airport on Friday. (AFP)

Harare: The England cricket team touched down in Harare on Friday, two days later than planned owing to a row over accreditation for the majority of British media covering the controversial Zimbabwe tour.

The first of the one-day Internationals, originally set for Friday, has been rescheduled for Sunday.

?The tour will now consist of four ODIs ? two in Harare and two in Bulawayo,? ECB chairman David Morgan told a news conference.

?The Harare matches will take place on Sunday and Wednesday. The team will move to Bulawayo on Friday and they will play in Bulawayo on Saturday and Sunday,? Morgan said.

?Zimbabwe Cricket were very keen that the team should play tomorrow (Saturday). We rejected that out of hand because England could not play on fewer than 24 hours notice. Four one-day Internationals in eight days is in itself a fairly hectic schedule.

?Zimbabwe Cricket has indicated that they will suffer a very significant financial penalty by playing one fewer match. We made it clear that we do not believe the ECB is responsible for the loss,? he said.

The whole tour was thrown into jeopardy earlier this week when the ECB asked the team to stay put in South Africa after Zimbabwe authorities barred 13 British journalists from entering the country. But the tour got the green signal on Thursday when the host authorities rescinded the ban.

Flintoff punch for SA

Meanwhile, Andrew Flintoff will be packing an extra bit of punch when England arrive in South Africa for a five-Test series next month. The star allrounder, who has skipped the trip to Zimbabwe, has instead been spending his time working out at a boxing gym near Manchester.

Gruelling sessions of sparring, skipping and pounding the punch bag have left the Lancashire star in the best shape. (Agencies)