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The England Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday announced that it was canceling its men’s and women’s cricket teams’ tour to Pakistan days after New Zealand abandoned its trip citing ‘security concerns’.
“We understand that this decision will be a significant disappointment to the PCB, who have worked tirelessly to host the return of international cricket in their country. Their support of English and Welsh cricket over the last two summers has been a huge demonstration of friendship. We are sincerely sorry for the impact this will have on cricket in Pakistan and emphasise an ongoing commitment to our main touring plans there for 2022,” read the official ECB statement.
“We can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip.”
🇵🇰 #PAKvENG 🏴
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 20, 2021
The men’s side were due to play two Twenty20 internationals on October 13 and 14, with the women playing three one-day internationals on October 17, 19 and 21.
All the matches were set to take place in Rawalpindi.
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja expressed his disappointment over the decision of England’s cricketing authorities in a tweet.
Disappointed with England, pulling out of their commitment & failing a member of their Cricket fraternity when it needed it most. Survive we will inshallah. A wake up call for Pak team to become the best team in the world for teams to line up to play them without making excuses.
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) September 20, 2021
The decision comes after Kiwis flew out of Pakistan on last Saturday, a day after abandoning their eight-match rubber over security threat, which, according to the New Zealand’s media reports, was issued by a global intelligence alliance.
The Black Caps were due to play three one-day internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20 internationals (T20Is) during their first tour to Pakistan in 18 years. They abandoned the tour as the first ODI was due to start in Rawalpindi on Friday.
Also read: NZ team faced no threat as per Pakistan’s intelligence: Rashid
In today’s statement, the ECB said the teams had agreed to play two additional T20 World Cup warm-up games in Pakistan in October, adding a short women’s tour with double headers alongside the men’s games.
“The ECB Board convened this weekend to discuss these extra England Women’s and Men’s games in Pakistan and we can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip,” read the official statement.
It went on to say that the mental and physical well-being of their players and support staff remains “highest priority and this is even more critical given the times we are currently living in”.
Read more: Threat alert came from Five Eyes as NZ fly out
Without specifying, the ECB said there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region and “they believe that going ahead will add further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments”.
“There is the added complexity for our Men’s T20 squad. We believe that touring under these conditions will not be ideal preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where performing well remains a top priority for 2021,” it added.
This will be updated…