BlackCaps abandon tour to Pakistan following a New Zealand government security alert

[Sherlock]

The BLACKCAPS are abandoning their tour of Pakistan following a New Zealand government security alert.

The side was to play Pakistan this evening in the first of three ODIs in Rawalpindi, before moving to Lahore for a five match T20 series.

However, following an escalation in the New Zealand Government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from NZC security advisors on the ground, it has been decided the BLACKCAPS will not continue with the tour.

Arrangements are now being made for the team’s departure.

NZC chief executive David White said it was simply not possible to continue with the tour given the advice he was receiving.

“I understand this will be a blow for the PCB, who have been wonderful hosts, but player safety is paramount and we believe this is the only responsible option.”

New Zealand Cricket Players Association chief executive Heath Mills echoed Mr White’s sentiments.

“We’ve been across this process throughout and are fully supportive of the decision,” he said.

“The players are in good hands; they’re safe – and everyone’s acting in their best interests.”

NZC will not comment on the details of the security threat nor the updated arrangements for the departing squad.

==

PCB statement

Islamabad, 17 September 2021:

Earlier today, New Zealand Cricket informed us they had been alerted to some security alert and have unilaterally decided to postpone the series.

Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan Government made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured the New Zealand Cricket of the same. The Pakistan Prime Minister spoke personally to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and informed her that we have one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team.

The security officials with the New Zealand team have been satisfied with security arrangements made by the Pakistan Government throughout their stay here.

PCB is willing to continue the scheduled matches. However, cricket lovers in Pakistan and around the world will be disappointed by this last minute withdrawal.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

I said it few months ago that Australia and NZ are not gonna tour Pakistan Bc of Taliban in Afghanistan but no one believed me

 

[MoJoJoJo]

Back to the srilankan days i guess.. don't think England, NZ and Aus are gonna tour anytime soon.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

This is going to go down as one of the darkest days in Pakistan Cricket history. Feels like all that time and effort over the last few years has been flushed down the drain.

 

[deep82]

Looks like England tour will also be called off as the security advisor is the same as of NZ team.

 

[Hasan123]

PP 2nd favourite team pulls out of a tour to Pakistan. Let's see if the usual suspects will defend them or criticise them.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

Looks like England tour will also be called off as the security advisor is the same as of NZ team.

There is time for that to be shifted to Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. UAE might not be available due to IPL.

PP 2nd favourite team pulls out of a tour to Pakistan. Let's see if the usual suspects will defend them or criticise them.

Why would you criticize them? They received orders from security agencies, out of their hands at that point.

 

[Usman Chadda]

This is going to go down as one of the darkest days in Pakistan Cricket history. Feels like all that time and effort over the last few years has been flushed down the drain.

How so?

The public needs to be made aware of this ‘security high level’ threat that has ended up calling off the tour like this.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Bleed on effect from Afghanistan, all these security advisors will cite that

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Cowardly and disgraceful. Hope to see NZ cricket suffer a lot for this betrayal.

 

[oatmeal]

What changed in the last 24 hours?

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Pakistan paying the price of supporting Taliban openly

 

[marlonbrowndo]

What changed in the last 24 hours?

This is the million dollar question

 

[rockyboy2018]

Much needed rest for the Pakistan team. It is just a random decision by NZC or what are these secret security threats they have found. Bad things can even happen in NZ itself.

 

[Mirpur express]

The Kiwi government have been advised the by security team here with the side regarding a threat !! Apparently a high risk security threat!!
Basically DARPOAK choozay!! *
What an anticlimax
What a crying shame
In fact what a disgrace..

 

[Mesozoic]

Good luck getting England and Australia now..

 

[rockyboy2018]

Just like the USA is asking Pakistan to pick sides hopefully it is not that part of the political nexus.

 

[Energy]

It is very sad to see that the value of Pakistan is worthless in the eyes of the world.

 

[Junaids]

Remember, the NZ team has experienced a bomb attack in Pakistan this century.

They wouldn’t have gone to Pakistan if they didn’t intend to play!

 

[Ramsay]

This is comedy gold!

Last minute cancellation. Lol.

 

[boomboom6]

Pak should boycott Kiwis for a while ... And if anyone else wants to pull the same stunt do the same to them ... Enough of this whataboutery!

 

[Sherlock]

Let's not blame NZ here. If their government advised them to leave then it's in their best interest to do so.

To blame NZ for this is rather stupid tbh.

 

[Aman]

I know everyone is going to be disappointed but players are not going to risk their lives for a cricket series. If the government has advised them not to go, it's in their best interests to listen.

 

[oatmeal]

if they werent sure, NZC should have mutually postponed the tour before visiting.

Cancelling it at the last moment is a pointless waste of time for everyone. It also negatively impacts any future tours. I dont think England will visit now

 

[sindhiboy]

Couldn't the security advisor tell nzc before they arrived in Pakistan?

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

I know everyone is going to be disappointed but players are not going to risk their lives for a cricket series. If the government has advised them not to go, it's in their best interests to listen.

But what changed in last 12 hours ?

This seems to be a big conspiracy.

 

[Ramsay]

I really feel sorry for PCB and Pakistan cricket fans here.

 

[globalcitizen]

Something serious must have happened or some fresh intelligence , otherwise an entire tour can't be cancelled. Very unfortunate really. Feel sad for Pakistan fans

 

[Sunzi]

Massive blow for proper cricket returning to Pakistan.

Gutting.

 

[Rana]

What are these security threats? Public lives are in danger

 

[DeadlyVenom]

We should wait for a statement to see what the threat was. Until then we are just speculating.

 

[PakLFC]

Even 1% threat is too much. No there is no conspiracy here other then the situation in Afghanistan. Said so before this tour was announced that I'll believe it when i see it. Don't expect any other country to visit soon either if players are feeling unsafe. It is the curse of Afghanistan being our neighbour that cancelled this tour. Much better to cancel the tour then see dead bodies again although one wonders if the PCB did not see any threats then how come the NZ board did? Welcome to Pak cricket, Ramiz.

 

[Babar_the_Destroyer]

So it was security alert.

 

[Sycamore]

Remember, the NZ team has experienced a bomb attack in Pakistan this century.

They wouldn’t have gone to Pakistan if they didn’t intend to play!

The players don't have a say in playing or not playing. This is straight from the NZ government/ security advisors, even the NZC board or security on ground couldn't have advised or taken a decision in this case.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

I know everyone is going to be disappointed but players are not going to risk their lives for a cricket series. If the government has advised them not to go, it's in their best interests to listen.

Pakistan should simply refuse to tour NZ.

Enough of this nonsense.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

There’s no way the England cricket team will be touring Pakistan after this. The ECB would’ve wanted to see how the NZ series went before making their decision.

West Indies tour rained off, NZ and England series cancelled, losing to England C, what a frustrating year for Pakistan.

 

[Aman]

if they werent sure, NZC should have mutually postponed the tour before visiting.

Cancelling it at the last moment is a pointless waste of time for everyone. It also negatively impacts any future tours. I dont think England will visit now

Because NZC should go against NZ government's wishes and proceed when they have been alerted to potential threats all the sake of a cricket series... Be rational, in what world is a sports governing body going to disregard what their government and security officials have advised?

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Obviously it is idiotic to blame the New Zealand team or board. There are 2 possible scenarios.

1) There was a major security lapse or threat that could not be contained. This would be completely unforgivable given the context. Both the PCB and Government should be held accountable in this case.

2) The New Zealand Government panicked over a false scare or had bad intel in which case they should be held accountable for the damage this will cause Pakistan Cricket.

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

But what changed in last 12 hours ?

This seems to be a big conspiracy.

Agreed. India behind this conspiracy.

 

[Shafi]

This tour was never on to start with.

 

[Aman]

Apparently security officials at the ground said they shouldn't travel... what is going on?.. This is getting scary and there was an immediate threat to the team at the ground.

 

[Rana]

Feel so sorry for Pakistan

In an attempt to bring International cricket back, they have basically ended it at home.

 

[alishahid]

Pakistan Vs Srilanka comming up to fill the void. Most probably a Pak tour of Lanka coming uo

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

NZ should share solid evidence why they ran away else they need to cover for all costs of the series.

 

[Abu_Hamza]

So according to some ppl NZ doing a BCCI here. So now PCB will take NZC to ICC dispute committee.

 

[IAJ]

There have been attacks in many other countries and the cricket still went on there, but here in Pakistan there haven't been anything while Kiwis have been here, so this whole seems fishy.

 

[Omer2002]

Agreed this will scar us for life. They agreed to security everything was fine they practiced yesterday was trophy ceromony latham looked happy. 30 minutes before the match what nonsense....

 

[abdulrafay33]

If i remember correctly this was the same country where Bangaldesh cricketers narrowly escaped a mosque attack and still that tour was continued if i remember correctly and now these cowards cry about security threats. Stupid people!

 

[90MPH]

You can’t blame the NZ cricket team or even their board - they wanted to play but they have to follow the advice.

I got no idea how credible this security threat was or the intelligence behind it.

It’s just a sad day for Pakistan cricket and their long suffering home fans.

 

[Aman]

Even 1% threat is too much. No there is no conspiracy here other then the situation in Afghanistan. Said so before this tour was announced that I'll believe it when i see it. Don't expect any other country to visit soon either if players are feeling unsafe. It is the curse of Afghanistan being our neighbour that cancelled this tour. Much better to cancel the tour then see dead bodies again although one wonders if the PCB did not see any threats then how come the NZ board did? Welcome to Pak cricket, Ramiz.

Yup, the Taliban taking over Afghanistan has been big news here. Makes sense why the NZ government being cautious as they deployed soldiers to fight against Taliban in Afghanistan.

 

[Abu_Hamza]

Pakistan should simply refuse to tour NZ.

Enough of this nonsense.

They should first ask for compensation and take them to ICC on this matter.

 

[Mamoon]

We deserve this humiliation.

Thank you PTI government. Thank you to the most incompetent government in Pakistan history.

There is no coming back after this humiliation. We are back to square one.

 

[Hasan123]

There is time for that to be shifted to Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. UAE might not be available due to IPL.



Why would you criticize them? They received orders from security agencies, out of their hands at that point.

Oh just wait and see how our fans will criticise. Me personally I have accepted cricket boards will look out for themselves.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

We demand a proper answer from NZ, this is disgraceful to say the least

 

[Mamoon]

NZ officially drops the “good guy” act.

There goes our soft spot for New Zealand cricket. They are now one of the antagonists.

 

[Greenstorm]

Seems fishy. Calling off at the last minute doesn't make much sense. What has changed this morning ? What is it that super duper Kiwi intel agencies have found out this morning that our authorities could not ?

I think its more than just 'security concerns'.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

NZ officially drops the “good guy” act.

There goes our soft spot for New Zealand cricket. They are now one of the antagonists.

Why would any sensible person blame the New Zealand Cricket team in this case?

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

We deserve this humiliation.

Thank you PTI government. Thank you to the most incompetent government in Pakistan history.

There is no coming back after this humiliation. We are back to square one.

Strange ! Why dont u question NZ govt ? What kind of security threat they received just an hour before match ?

Bangladesh team almost got attacked in mosque few years back in NZ. Did u blame NZ govt back then ?

 

[ARK Rafay]

This feels very odd. 30 mins away from the start of the game and now there are security threats? The team has been here for an entire week and training. But suddenly massive change of plans?

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Not sure why our fans are blaming the NZ cricket board, blame the government of NZ.

Also, if there was a security threat to the NZ cricket team, then why should we risk being banned for another 10 years of hosting international cricket and potentially losing foreign players in the PSL just for this series against NZ C which doesn’t even have an affect on the WC qualifiers?

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Bleed on effect from Afghanistan, all these security advisors will cite that

Isn't it true tho?

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

We deserve this humiliation.

Thank you PTI government. Thank you to the most incompetent government in Pakistan history.

There is no coming back after this humiliation. We are back to square one.

Is PTI to blame?

Or Pak Mil?

 

[James]

Oh my word. At this stage of proceedings as well.

How deeply frustrating and disappointing.

This sucks.

 

[Shafi]

Yup, the Taliban taking over Afghanistan has been big news here. Makes sense why the NZ government being cautious as they deployed soldiers to fight against Taliban in Afghanistan.

So they didn't cancel the tour earlies. Why waste time?

 

[Rana]

So basically PCB can abandon a tour an hour before it’s start if the ISI tell them that there is a security threat?

 

[fitCricFan]

Well BCCI had recently threatened Cricket Boards not to send even retired players to Pakistan. Just saying.

That could very well be the case.

 

[Theo_14]

A sad day.

This needs to be deeply investigated. Hardwork, planning where a decade was invested has now gone down the drain.

 

[Aman]

There's a video I've seen of ground staff checking for bombs at the ground......

 

[Babar_the_Destroyer]

There are pictures of security officer's checking the stadium with bomb checking device,so the threat has Tobe there

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

They could have declined touring Pakistan in the beginning itself.

This has taken Pakistan cricket back by further 10 years.

NZ Govt/Board has to be answerable for such huge loss to PCB.

If there were some lapses in providing best security to players, highlight that and held PCB accountable.

But citing security concerns without sharing proper facts is not acceptable.

Cricketing world should demand justification.

 

[Greenstorm]

Isn't it true tho?

No.

 

[Mamoon]

Iftikhar Ahmed: “I am the most famous finisher in Pakistan”.

No Iftikhar, it is the New Zealand cricket team. They finished off the whole tour without playing a single ball.

 

[shah_1]

It has all gone to waste

What kind of security threat existed needs to be properly investigated

 

[Aman]

There are pictures of security officer's checking the stadium with bomb checking device,so the threat has Tobe there

Is that a normal procedure or was there some credible reports of a bomb?..

In that case man oh man, how can you expect NZ to continue after such a threat..

 

[AAli98]

Ik should make the kiwis walk to the airport & for good measure drop em of to Afghanistan, then theyl find out what security issues are !!

 

[shah_1]

Iftikhar Ahmed: “I am the most famous finisher in Pakistan”.

No Iftikhar, it is the New Zealand cricket team. They finished off the whole tour without playing a single ball.

We are back to playing in UAE

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

That's what you get for opening your border for Afghan refugees and vouching for the Taliban.

 

[James]

Yup, the Taliban taking over Afghanistan has been big news here. Makes sense why the NZ government being cautious as they deployed soldiers to fight against Taliban in Afghanistan.

I agree with you, but in this case why even begin the tour and check into the hotel? This late stage cancellation is unexpected to say the least.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Ah. So will PCB ask NZC to forfeit the series ?

 

[ritzy_123]

Obviously it is idiotic to blame the New Zealand team or board. There are 2 possible scenarios.

1) There was a major security lapse or threat that could not be contained. This would be completely unforgivable given the context. Both the PCB and Government should be held accountable in this case.

2) The New Zealand Government panicked over a false scare or had bad intel in which case they should be held accountable for the damage this will cause Pakistan Cricket.

2nd reason is the only reason or any political issue. The team was moving in and out of the hotel and practiced for 5 days continously. This last minute cancellation doesn't make any sense.