Friday 26 August 2016

Bangladesh v England: No players forced to tour, says Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan
England one-day captain Eoin Morgan says no player will be forced to tour Bangladesh given the security issues following recent terrorist attacks.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has sent representatives to Bangladesh to assess travel safety, with the squad set to meet them on Thursday.
Those happy to go will fly out on 30 September for two Tests and three ODIs.
"I don't think anybody will ever be forced to go on a particular tour," Morgan told BBC Radio 5 live.
"I think it's important for us to get together as a group, and be informed by people who we trust in order to make the right decisions and go from there."
Australia postponed their Test tour to Bangladesh in October 2015 because of security concerns, while England have not toured the country since 2010.
The ECB has been monitoring security in Bangladesh after 20 hostages and two police officers were killed in Dhaka in July.
"I'm pretty open-minded," Morgan added. "You can't really rule out anything until you hear from the people you trust.
"The ECB has made decisions over the years that have held us in good stead - we've never been in any danger before."
Bangladesh's limited-overs captain Mashrafe Mortaza urged England to come to Bangladesh.
He said: "These incidents are happening all over the world and if we postpone playing now, there will be a time when we would have to stop the game.
"I can assure you that you can play cricket wholeheartedly. You don't have to think of anything else. Our friendship will get deeper if we play this series."
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to conduct its own security assessment for match officials, but only if the tour is confirmed as going ahead.
Should the ICC be advised against sending its officials it could allow the use of local umpires, as was the case in May 2015 when Zimbabwe toured Pakistan for two Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals.
Pakistan has not hosted top-level international cricket since 2009 when a Sri Lanka team bus was attacked by gunmen, injuring six players and killing six police officers.

No comments: