England's World Cup campaign was plunged into turmoil on Saturday when skipper Nasser Hussain threatened to quit in protest over the Zimbabwe boycott crisis.
To make matters worse, England's slim hopes of having their match against Zimbabwe shifted because of security fears were quashed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) who turned down a final appeal which has cost Hussain's team four points.
Hussain, in East London where England play their first match of the tournament against the Netherlands on Sunday, reacted furiously to claims that his England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) employers had apologised to ICC chief Malcolm Speed for him allegedly swearing at the Australian during a meeting over the boycott in Cape Town last week.
"I have nothing to apologise for. At no stage did I swear - I just let the head of the ICC know they had let us down," said Hussain who was adamant he was considering his future in the job.
"Definitely - I haven't made up my mind but I have to think about the future," he said.
"The ICC should have seen the Zimbabwe crisis snowballing six months, a year ago. The whole issue has been fudged.
"We have all been let down by the authorities and I feel that the ECB has nothing to apologise for. The players' dreams have all been shattered by politics."
"As captain, I have been left isolated. I am feeling very low and it's only the players and the cricket that have kept me going," said Hussain.
Earlier on Saturday, the World Cup technical committee again turned down England's appeal to have their game in Harare, which had been scheduled to take place last Thursday, switched to South Africa on security grounds.
England claimed that they had new evidence about a letter from a group calling itself the 'Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe, which contained a death threat against players and their families if the team played in Harare.
But the ECB, among others, initially dismissed the letter as a hoax and their new claims were rejected by two police witnesses.
As well as losing vital points, the ECB faces a huge compensation claim from the Zimbabwe Cricket Union for loss of income.
In Johannesburg, ECB chief executive Tim Lamb insisted there had been no apology.
"There has been no written apology on the part of either Nasser Hussain or the ECB. None was sought and none given," said Lamb.
"Malcolm was right when he said that when he went to a players' meeting he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"There was an animated and passionate atmosphere at the meeting. Malcolm did come under a bit of pressure.
"I just expressed regret to him about the amimated atmosphere. "No swear words were used. The dialogue was a little robust, no more than that.
"On the eve of our first match, I'd like to make it absolutely clear that Nasser Hussain, the captain of England, has the total support of the ECB."
But, in the short term, the loss of four points could prove deeply damaging to England's hopes of making it into the World Cup's second phase as they still have to play defending champions Australia as well as Pakistan and India.