LONDON: Tom Harrison, English cricket’s top administrator, has flown to Pakistan in a bid to mend relations with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) damaged by the cancellation of October’s Twenty20 tour.
A spokesperson for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) told AFP on Monday that Chief Executive Tom Harrison had travelled for meetings with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja.
International ESPNcricinfo reported that PCB officials were upset with the English board’s unilateral decision to cancel their tour of Pakistan following New Zealand’s suit.
According to ESPNcricinfo, “Harrison’s trip is only expected to last a couple of days. He is due in the UAE later in the week as the ICC holds their first in-person chief executives’ meeting since the start of the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, the PCB confirmed that Tom Harrison would reach Lahore early Tuesday morning and will meet with Ramiz Raja on the same afternoon and will be returning by day end.
Former Test batsman Raja said he felt “humiliated” when the ECB announced in September it was calling off the tour. England, who last played in Pakistan 16 years ago, are due to play a Test series there in 2022.
The ECB cited “increasing concerns about travelling to the region” in cancelling October’s tour, just days after New Zealand also pulled out of a tour to Pakistan over security concerns.
However, British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner had said that the commission had supported the tour, adding that the decision was taken by the ECB over “concerns of player welfare”.
Pakistan travelled to England last year at a time when Covid-19 infection rates in Britain were among the highest in the world for a three-match Test series and T20 series that saved the ECB millions in television rights deals.
