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The England and Wales Cricket Board chairman, Ian Watmore, has apologised to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the cancellation of the men’s and women’s teams’ limited-overs tour to the country and assured that the ECB would commit to a full tour comprising three Tests and five ODIs next winter.
Another setback for Pakistan after the New Zealand team returned home without playing the series. England has also said it will not visit Pakistan, citing security concerns. England’s men’s and women’s teams were scheduled to play a fixed over series in Pakistan. But it is clear that New Zealand’s withdrawal has frightened them as well. Following this, the ECB announced in a press release that the Pakistan tour would be canceled. England’s men’s T20 team played two T20s in Pakistan. It was October 14th and 15th. The women’s team had scheduled three ODIs and two T20Is in Pakistan at the same time. These are canceled.
The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) continues to court criticism over the cancelled tour of Pakistan. After the British High Commission of Pakistan clarified that it played no role in the tour’s cancellation, it has now been reported that even the England players were not consulted before the ECB decided against suspending the series.
A Team England Player Partnership (England cricketers’ union) official, speaking to the Daily Mail UK, confirmed that neither did an England player (male or female) express his/her apprehension towards the tour nor was anyone consulted by the ECB.
“At no stage has the ECB ever asked Team England Player Partnership or the teams, men and women, whether the tour should go ahead or whether players were prepared to tour Pakistan. At no stage has Team England Player Partnership informed the ECB that the players would not be touring,” the official said.
The ECB acted upon the decision taken by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) who were reportedly informed of a security threat to its players involved in the series. According to a TEPP spokesperson, the ECB held a meeting on Sunday where the decision to cancel the tour of Pakistan was taken. The players were informed of the decision but no consultation was sought while the fate of the series was being decided in the meeting
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“The ECB board met last Sunday to debate the tour to Pakistan. That afternoon we were informed the tour had been cancelled. Team England Player Partnership was not asked for our input and we were not involved in the decision to cancel the tour,” the spokesperson revealed.
The ECB met this week to discuss the series of men’s and women’s teams in Pakistan. The ECB said in a statement that it had “reluctantly decided” to withdraw both teams from the October tour. We place a high value on the mental and physical well-being of our players and support staff. This is even more crucial at this particular time in our lives. We know that there are growing concerns about travel to this area. Going forward with this will put more pressure on the team. The ECB said in a statement that all the players were already going through a difficult period due to the Kovid restrictions.
Our men’s T20 squad now has more complexity. Under these circumstances, we believe that a tour of Pakistan would not be a good preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup. The ECB said in a statement that it was focusing on its best performance this year.
The ECB is committed to touring Pakistan as part of its 2022 Men’s Future Tours program. Earlier this year, we agreed to play two warm-up matches in Pakistan ahead of the T20 World Cup in October. The women’s team also scheduled a short tour on the day of the men’s match.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- The ECB decided to cancel its men’s and women’s teams’ tour of Pakistan, scheduled for October
- ECB’s decision came in the wake of New Zealand’s pull out citing security threat
- The English players, however, reportedly played no role in ECB’s decision
