The British High Commissioner has thrown the ECB under the bus.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="nl" dir="ltr">Aakhir main jeet cricket kee hogee <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PakVsEng?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PakVsEng</a><a href="https://twitter.com/iramizraja?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iramizraja</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheRealPCB</a> <a href="https://t.co/JNgOMcuD7Q">pic.twitter.com/JNgOMcuD7Q</a></p>— Christian Turner (@CTurnerFCDO) <a href="https://twitter.com/CTurnerFCDO/status/1440323635433017344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It is thanks to people like this, who are willing to speak the truth about the situation, that we are able to get a glimpse of how poor ECB's decision has been.
This is a revelation: not only does this show that the English government did not force ECB, it shows that they have made an entirely baseless decision.
Had their security delegation and British High Commission stated that the security arrangements were sub-par, Pakistan would have nothing.
This is a great injustice, actually, it is racial discrimination against us. It is good that there are people whose hearts are in the right places, who stand up to such discrimination and poor treatment when they see this.
I will repeat: a friend in need is a friend indeed. Pakistan extended the hand of support to NZC and ECB, and they threw that support and respect away when they decided to abandon their tours without considering what the ground reality was.
One thing which does stand out now is that the NZC and their government made the decision to abandon the tour: as per the British High Commission, the evidence was not strong enough to dissuade England's tour of Pakistan.
Ramiz and the PCB now have multiple avenues to address this issue, and we need to exercise all of them:
1.) Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are willing to send their teams. Inquire and get statements from all these boards, ask them their thoughts on the security arrangements, and if they are willing to send their teams.
2.) NZC abandoned the tour on a decision they made along with their government; this Five Eyes' evidence was not strong enough to dissuade the British High Commission, so it is clear they bailed out. Tom Latham made a statement about the security being excellent, you have a press release with David White agreeing to look into compensations, and you have the negligence showed by NZC to avoid sharing this evidence. You have multiple players talking about safety arrangements, you have the approval of the security delegations in place. It is time to deal NZC a hit that they will remember for a long time; this is not just a hit dealt by Pakistan, but a hit dealt by those who have been victim to discrimination among international politics. This is a hit that will rock the Big 3, because we'll have made an example of one of their subordinates.
3.) With England in mind, PCB must contact the ECB to make compensations. They made the personal decision to pull out; their government did not force them to make this decision. Their security delegation approved of the measures in place, and deemed the tour to go on. If player fatigue is such an issue, then England should be ready to compensate us for their own poor management of their players. That reason is shallow, and with the statement made by the British High Commission, they will have nowhere to run.
Take money away from those in power and their egos will be crushed.
Pakistan must be the next party to exchange blows, because this will not only show that all boards need to be treated as equals, it will help other, smaller boards stand up to these types of injustices and absurd demands.
SLC, BCB, and ACB are standing with us because they too have experienced this discrimination: English players refused to tour BD in 2016, England canceled a tour of SA and SLC, and Australia refuses to play against Afghanistan for a series that was already decided to take place.
Now is the time to speak up, and stand up for ourselves. It is the time to end this mentality that western, white boards can make the decisions they want on their own personal terms and agendas.
If we fail to make a move, we will have done a great injustice with this beautiful sport, but also a great injustice in failing to destroy this racist mindset in it's weakest stage.
It is time for all these boards who have been victim to such crude, shambolic decisions to stand together, and deal a hit to the Big 3 which they will keep in mind whenever this thought crosses their minds again.
Now is not the time to look at past differences, it is the time to focus on what can be improved for the future.
You may call me dramatic, you may call be irrational, but I know racism when I see it, and I know when it is right to stand up for those who have suffered in the past, and those who will continue to suffer if we don't take the actions we need to right now.
I rest my case.
