RAWALPINDI: Renowned cricket commentator Mike Haysman has termed the New Zealand and England cricket boards’ decision to cancel Pakistan tour “extremely disappointing”.
Talking to Geo News exclusively, the former Australian cricketer said that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has lost a “golden opportunity” to pay back Pakistan for its goodwill.
Mike Haysman said that he never felt insecure while being in Pakistan, adding that the ECB calling off the tour to Pakistan without consulting their players was “extremely heartbreaking”.
Haysman said that Pakistan toured England when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak. “ECB had a golden opportunity to pay back Pakistani cricket with a four-day tour which they have unfortunately missed,” he said.
The commentator said that this was not the first time that the ECB has backed off from a tour all of a sudden as the board recently pulled out of the South Africa tour, making the pandemic an excuse while, in fact, not a single player tested positive for COVID-19. “The ICC must take strict action against such behaviour of ECB”, he demanded.
Haysman further stated that NZ Cricket should have taken the matter of security threats to the highest authorities in Pakistan instead of unilaterally calling off the tour. “When you play international cricket, you have to provide evidence backing your decisions before cancelling the tour,” said Haysman.
“The security in Pakistan is a bit more than usual with a reason to conduct international cricket smoothly,” said Haysman, adding that his presence in Pakistan is a major proof of no security threats.
Haysman is currently in Pakistan to commentate for National T20 Cup going on in Rawalpindi.
