LAHORE: The England Cricket Board (ECB) would decide on its tour to Pakistan within the next 24-48 hours, a spokesperson of the ECB said on Friday, after New Zealand “unilaterally” abandoned tour citing a “security alert”.
Given that New Zealand Cricket Board (NZC) and the ECB use the same security consultants – ESI Risk – to advise on such matters, it would be a major surprise if England proceeded with the tour. “We’re aware of New Zealand’s decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a security alert,” an ECB spokesperson said.
“We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation. The ECB Board will then decide in the next 24-48 hours whether our planned tour should proceed,” the spokesman added.
The English men and women teams are due to play two Twenty20s in Rawalpindi on October 13 and 14. The women’s team are also due to play three ODIs in Pakistan on October 17, 19, and 21.
The tour would have been a significant moment for Pakistan cricket. England have not visited the country since 2005 due to security concerns, but agreed on this two-match series as a sign of gratitude at Pakistan’s assistance in helping them stage cricket during the English summer of 2020 when the nation was in lockdown.
Kiwis back out of tour over ‘security threats’
Earlier in the day, the New Zealand cricket team backed out of its tour of Pakistan over security concerns minutes before the first match was scheduled to start at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
In a statement, the Pakistan Cricket Board said that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) informed the board they had been alerted to “some security alert” and unilaterally decided to postpone the series.
The New Zealand contingent in Pakistan is now preparing to leave the country. The NZC said Pakistan had been “wonderful hosts” but added that player safety was “paramount”. Meanwhile, the PCB said Pakistan had “foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams” and had “assured NZC of the same”.
The statement said that Prime Minister Imran Khan also personally spoke to Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, and informed her that Pakistan had “one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind” existed for the visiting team.
“The security officials with the New Zealand team have been satisfied with security arrangements made by the government throughout their stay,” the statement said, adding that the PCB was willing to continue the matches.
