Could England's Tour to Pakistan be in doubt now that New Zealand has abandoned their tour?

[OMB]

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.

 

[OMB]

Could the England's Tour to Pakistan be in doubt now that New Zealand has abandoned their tour?

Shocking news about New Zealand pulling out of the tour on the eve of the match at Pindi.

Could it mean that England's tour to Pakistan is also in doubt now?

What are your thoughts?
What more must PCB do to ensure Englands tour does take place?

 

[rockyboy2018]

Pakistan should not participate in any bilateral series with these teams who do not tour Pakistan. Simple.

 

[PakPremi]

Pakistan should not participate in any bilateral series with these teams who do not tour Pakistan. Simple.

Unfortunately Pakistan not in that position after already no ties with India.

 

[topspin]

Pakistan's security situation was going from strength to strength until the Taliban took over Afghanistan. This was always bound to happen but I didn't expect this to become a reality so soon.

I hope our Pakistani Taliban supporters/sympathisers on this forum are happy now.

 

[Executioner]

One thing I would like to ask the NZ government, where was your "intelligence" or "security" for a touring team in 2019 when our cricket team was neary wiped out

 

[Hasan123]

This situation has given England every reason to pull out. Not much we can do now.

 

[Rana]

It will be called off

 

[sindhiboy]

Unlikely that england will tour.
Back to the boring snoozefests in the UAE it seems

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

No chance of any tour to Pakistan anytime soon. Even PSL would have to be shifted overseas

 

[Rana]

Pakistan should not participate in any bilateral series with these teams who do not tour Pakistan. Simple.

Lol

Basically no one

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

It will be called off

It is called off as per reports.NZ players flying out.

 

[Sir-fraz]

No sources mentioned, NZL has not shown good faith. ISI is one of the top 3 agencies in the world and your gonna tell me NZL agnecy found something that ISI didnt. Lmao this a complete farce.

 

[deep82]

England main players can continue in IPL now. No way they are coming back after what happens today.

 

[Rana]

It is called off as per reports.NZ players flying out.

NZ players are flying out of the England tour?

Is it 12 o’clock in Melbourne right now?

 

[Rana]

England main players can continue in IPL now. No way they are coming back after what happens today.

Unless PCB relocate

 

[TheInaudibleParadox]

Why do we still play a game that was introduced by Colonials? I am being dead serious.

 

[fitCricFan]

Can we get Srilanka or another team to fill in?

 

[Savak]

After this debacle, I have zero faith in any country even if they are in Pakistan, they can withdraw at the last minute.

The PCB need to find a way to operate without relying on the BCCI and the other Big 4 boards. Maybe watch and learn from how South Africa survived as a template?

 

[bujhee kom]

England will not tour. This is very very unfortunate.

 

[Rana]

NZ couldn’t care less about how they have indirectly destroyed cricket and careers in Pakistan. Why would they care? It is a privilege to play in New Zealand apparently

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

England might pull out

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

NZ players are flying out of the England tour?

Is it 12 o’clock in Melbourne right now?

Don't worry. Hope that England players come and that tour comes along. Else back to UAE again

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

This is shocking, shameless stuff from the NZ govt. I refuse to believe that their intel was better than the intel on the ground of our security agencies. The sheer breath and comprehensiveness of the security arrangements itself was astonishing. As someone who lives in Pindi I have seen first-hand how comprehensive they are. A journalist covering the series said the arrangements were even comprehensive than he had noticed the previous time.

The NZ govt. should be ashamed of themselves. They have not just cancelled an entire tour on bad intel but caused long-standing damage to Pakistan cricket and everything it has done in the last few years to bring cricket back.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Doubt England/Australia will tour. They are part of five eyes alliance.
Even other teams like Bangladesh/Sri Lanka will tour unlikely i guess.
Sad and disastrous.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

If NZ are not touring, I doubt England and Australia will. PCB should arrange their home series in Malaysia if not UAE.

 

[oatmeal]

I dont think England will tour at least for a year now

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

One thing I would like to ask the NZ government, where was your "intelligence" or "security" for a touring team in 2019 when our cricket team was neary wiped out

Because only western lifes matter not asian.

 

[Savak]

Had the PCB not toured England in July August 2020, the ECB was looking at losses upto $300 million. The ECB has a moral responsibility here but there are no morals in international diplomacy, its a use and dispose of world

 

[Ab Fan]

There is no chance that England will tour. Their players were skipping IPL playoffs in a venue where WT20 will be played a week later because they were probably bitter of the fact that India missed the final test.

Now, obviously, they will come back to IPL and their board will be back to lacing BCCI's shoes as usual.

 

[ads101]

After this debacle, I have zero faith in any country even if they are in Pakistan, they can withdraw at the last minute.

The PCB need to find a way to operate without relying on the BCCI and the other Big 4 boards. Maybe watch and learn from how South Africa survived as a template?

You would need a domestic structure where people want to actually watch games. Just like in football. It's far healthier sustaining a sport that way, domestic cricketers are better compensated, which is why in football domestic takes priority for most. It would probably lead to a higher standard of playing too and better merit system when picking for international matches. Most fans do not care about domestic despite being the largest proportion of matches these top level players play.

But I admit international matches for me are more exciting. But with this current model where international cricket is prioritized, PCB will always struggle to survive. Imagine if millions of Pakistani fans tuned in/attended stadiums to watch their local team play just like football? You wouldn't be so desperate on the big 4 at all.

 

[MenInG]

An ECB spokesperson said: “We’re aware of New Zealand’s decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a security alert. We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation. The ECB Board will then decide in the next 24-48 hours whether our planned tour should proceed.”

 

[Civil]

Bilateral cricket seems a pointless pursuit for our nation at this point.

 

[Mamoon]

Had the PCB not toured England in July August 2020, the ECB was looking at losses upto $300 million. The ECB has a moral responsibility here but there are no morals in international diplomacy, its a use and dispose of world

PCB did not your England to help PCB. They toured England because they feared that if they pull out, ECB would return the favor by not touring Pakistan.

Pakistan was looking after its own interests, not ECB’s.

So no one, including ECB, buys this morals drama.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

If England do continue with the tour, I wonder if they could add another 2-3 T20’s.

 

[Titan24]

British high commissioner as per news have said they haven’t received any intel that NZ has referred to. So lets see, it will be decided in couple or so days as per news. Same security experts are supposedly there.

 

[Snatch]

NZ couldn’t care less about how they have indirectly destroyed cricket and careers in Pakistan. Why would they care? It is a privilege to play in New Zealand apparently

New Zealand is a beautiful country to tour, true. So green & scenic.

 

[Rana]

Nothing can save Pakistan now except ECB ‘putting their lives at risk’ and playing tape ball cricket with the locals as a demonstration of how safe Pakistan is

 

[YousafTheBeast]

The fact that ECB has released a statement saying they’ll make decision in 48 hours likely means that they’re cancelling the tour. They’re not going to take a risk like that for us.

 

[Rana]

Come on ECB, we need you now more than ever!

A cry of desperation it is, only a true Pakistan cricket fan would know.

NZCB have destroyed our hard work, that too with their 3rd string side who were being sent as jobbers as it is. With New Zealand’s standing in the world, especially with Jacinda Arden apparently being this Messiah of Covid, this pull out will have long, long lasting effects. It most certainly means Australia have decided not to tour for another 3 decades.

So now we have one final lifeline in restoring cricket at home, and that is if The ECB can be rational about the situation and pull through with the tour, including its players.

I know a lot of people do not buy the theory that PCB were helping the ECB last summer by touring at the peak of the covid scare in England, but right now we need the ECB to really save our international cricket by pulling through with a proper tour. I don’t think the fans or the PCB have the energy to pull through another decade of exile from Pakistan.

 

[PakLFC]

They should cancel it right now. If NZ felt threatened then the UK will do a 100 times more for being so involved in Afghanistan.

 

[RyanRyan10]

A cry of desperation it is, only a true Pakistan cricket fan would know.

NZCB have destroyed our hard work, that too with their 3rd string side who were being sent as jobbers as it is. With New Zealand’s standing in the world, especially with Jacinda Arden apparently being this Messiah of Covid, this pull out will have long, long lasting effects. It most certainly means Australia have decided not to tour for another 3 decades.

So now we have one final lifeline in restoring cricket at home, and that is if The ECB can be rational about the situation and pull through with the tour, including its players.

I know a lot of people do not buy the theory that PCB were helping the ECB last summer by touring at the peak of the covid scare in England, but right now we need the ECB to really save our international cricket by pulling through with a proper tour. I don’t think the fans or the PCB have the energy to pull through another decade of exile from Pakistan.

NZ domestic reserves and their development side had defeated Pakistan A which was filled with PSL superstars. Duffy was Man of the match on his T20I debut. So have some respect for them, they are not jobbers.

 

[Aman]

One thing I would like to ask the NZ government, where was your "intelligence" or "security" for a touring team in 2019 when our cricket team was neary wiped out

That was a national security slip up, the Bangladesh cricket team weren't the targets. If Bangladesh were traumatized by it, they could have left. No one forced them to stay and continue the series.

IT's a completely different situation and you know it. Complete and utter nonsense to expect them to ignore and slip up now because they messed up in 2019.

 

[Greenstorm]

Pakistan's security situation was going from strength to strength until the Taliban took over Afghanistan. This was always bound to happen but I didn't expect this to become a reality so soon.

I hope our Pakistani Taliban supporters/sympathisers on this forum are happy now.

Yes NZ, Eng, Australian teams used to roam around in anarkali and raja bazaar before Taliban took over.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

A cry of desperation it is, only a true Pakistan cricket fan would know.

NZCB have destroyed our hard work, that too with their 3rd string side who were being sent as jobbers as it is. With New Zealand’s standing in the world, especially with Jacinda Arden apparently being this Messiah of Covid, this pull out will have long, long lasting effects. It most certainly means Australia have decided not to tour for another 3 decades.

So now we have one final lifeline in restoring cricket at home, and that is if The ECB can be rational about the situation and pull through with the tour, including its players.

I know a lot of people do not buy the theory that PCB were helping the ECB last summer by touring at the peak of the covid scare in England, but right now we need the ECB to really save our international cricket by pulling through with a proper tour. I don’t think the fans or the PCB have the energy to pull through another decade of exile from Pakistan.

No chance. ECB have already made the decision and they’ll release a statement in the next 2 days. They didn’t even say they’ll consult with the NZ intelligence agencies, they’ve made their decision and they’re not going to “risk” it for us.

Remember what they did in SA…

 

[PakLFC]

I think the UK may even twist this somehow to keep Pak on the red list!

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Pak needs to have a backup venue for series against England. Maybe Qatar or SL.

If England team does decide to come, the matches should be played without crowds. We need to make the security even tighter.

 

[Pakpak]

Pak needs to have a backup venue for series against England. Maybe Qatar or SL.

If England team does decide to come, the matches should be played without crowds. We need to make the security even tighter.

Absolutely not. Enough of playing out neutral series in desert bowls.

 

[MenInG]

No chance. ECB have already made the decision and they’ll release a statement in the next 2 days. They didn’t even say they’ll consult with the NZ intelligence agencies, they’ve made their decision and they’re not going to “risk” it for us.

Remember what they did in SA…

They havent said anything like that - they are considering.

 

[Ami]

Definitely.

 

[Shafi]

Give Pakistan base to US to attack Afghanistan and teams like NZ, Eng, Aus and even India will travel. Otherwise no cricket.

 

[Shafi]

They havent said anything like that - they are considering.

May be they will make this security drama more spicy. PCB should tell them not to come. We don't need more dramas to destroy our cricket completely.

 

[Sherlock]

Sky Sports : ECB to decide within 48hrs of England tour of Pakistan

ECB say they'll garner more info from the security team in Pakistan as to what to do next. The same security team advised NZ for the tour.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Had the PCB not toured England in July August 2020, the ECB was looking at losses upto $300 million. The ECB has a moral responsibility here but there are no morals in international diplomacy, its a use and dispose of world

Can you post a source for this $300mn loss claim?

 

[Major]

No one to blame except taliban breeder and there sympathizeers which includes civilian & military bureau, elite, politicians and conservative islamic jahil awam who are in majority

I hope the symphathizers are happy.

Funny how our pm was on call pleading the nz pm.

We are already seeing the effects of supporting the tliban

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

ECB say they'll garner more info from the security team in Pakistan as to what to do next. The same security team advised NZ for the tour.

Whatever maybe the decision I hope they don't change it

 

[wajid]

Pak needs to have a backup venue for series against England. Maybe Qatar or SL.

If England team does decide to come, the matches should be played without crowds. We need to make the security even tighter.

I prefer Qatar

 

[Bewal Express]

I hope the symphathizers are happy.

Funny how our pm was on call pleading the nz pm.

We are already seeing the effects of supporting the tliban

Yes off course, NZ have been here regularly for the last decade

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Cricbuzz is reporting that :
"source close to the men's team confirmed to Cricbuzz that they were hearing the tour is going to be called-off."

 

[Aman]

Cricbuzz is reporting that :
"source close to the men's team confirmed to Cricbuzz that they were hearing the tour is going to be called-off."

Guess the security concerns were legit if England have decided to call off the series.

 

[ahsan17]

Cricbuzz is reporting that :
"source close to the men's team confirmed to Cricbuzz that they were hearing the tour is going to be called-off."

They were reporting that 12 hours ago when no other source was reporting that.

 

[zarak]

Guess the security concerns were legit if England have decided to call off the series.

Not really. It is unlikely that any team will tour after the unilateral pull out. The legitimacy doesn't matter. Goodwill has been damaged.

 

[sweep_shot]

Yes. England tour may not happen now. England will probably chicken out.

 

[Manunited18]

England will postpone the tour till next year.

 

[OMB]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It’s time for <a href="https://twitter.com/ECB_cricket?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ecb_cricket</a> to show their appreciation of <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@therealpcb</a> through actions and not words. Despite the mind boggling <a href="https://twitter.com/BLACKCAPS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@blackcaps</a> decision, Pakistan remains a safe place to tour. ECB shouldn't forget our support for them last year in a very tough Covid-19 situation.</p>— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial/status/1439164000042901505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[UzmanBeast]

The Ball is in England's Court

I'm sure everyone has seen how the situation has unfolded with New Zealand, I've made numerous posts about my views but I'll summarize them below:

1.) Pakistan toured New Zealand during the peak of COVID-19 Pandemic, suffered the horrible hospitality there and still maintained their goal to play cricket despite turmoil from the Christchurch shooting. Our team also had numerous COVID-19 cases, and at that time, vaccinations weren't even full-fledged around the world.

2.) The lack of communication means that New Zealand Cricket Board did not have trust in the PCB even before coming to Pakistan; their apprehension was what made them pack their bags and leave without consulting. People who think that NZC made the best decision are braindead; the decision would have been to leave but the way in which it was done was horrible, and downright humiliating and disgraceful.

3.) Reports suggest that the PCB has incurred a loss of about $1.5 million, but the figure is probably much larger than that. Of course, you cannot factor in the disappointment of fans, but this figure probably does not represent the costs of arranging presidential level security for a cricket team.

4.) Coming back to the New Zealand Cricket Board, their decision was also very selfish. Keeping the PCB in the dark was not professional, it was childish. Are the lives of Pakistani cricketers worth less than the lives of New Zealand's cricketers? If there were supposedly an attempted attack, could the lives of our cricketers not have been in danger if we didn't get that information?

5.) If the decision can be made in such haste, then the evidence must be damning. Why is this evidence still being withheld from Pakistan? NZ team has left the country, so why do they continue to withhold this information? It is clearly a political move.

For England, however, this poses a much greater problem. The presence of Pakistanis in England is damning; games are almost neck and neck in terms of the number of fans that come from both sides. Both boards have enjoyed fruitful relations, but England have enjoyed a greater deal of the treasures that come with international tours from Pakistan.

Let's do some math here:

In 2019, Pakistan came for a 5 match ODI series, almost all games had fans jam-packed and it was truly some entertaining cricket.

In 2020, Pakistan toured England for a test series in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic; it was incredibly unsafe to do so, but we showed great heart and spirit to play with them. We also played a T20 series there in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and we made no complaints when they decided to reduce our players' accommodation to a 3-star hotel.

In 2021, we toured England for a 3 match ODI series, which was enjoyed by the spectators. We provided great cricket to watch from an England point of view, and that is justified with the fact that the stadiums were almost entirely full during the T20 series.

Pakistan has done a lot for England; we have not made any outrageous demands and have helped them in their time of need. The tour to Pakistan is incredibly short for England, I believe they are staying for just four or five days. We placed our trust in them during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and we have seen the type of high-profile security in England where fat blobs like Jarvo can run onto the pitch and make physical contact with the players.

The question is whether or not England will look at all we've done and help us when we are in a time of need.

If they choose to opt out, I believe that they will be harming themselves but also destroying a very good relationship they possess with the PCB.

If they choose to come, they will solidify their relationship with the PCB, and would have more power over future tours from Pakistan to England. Not to mention, they will have helped us in our time of need, and Pakistanis do not forget those who help us.

So it all comes down to what they do. I hope that they'll look past New Zealand's incompetence, send a team to review the conditions, and then make the decision.

There is no need to rush, the decision can be made in a week or so after the security delegation revisits the country.

 

[iniqbal223]

Its better if England also not come... who knows what different excuse they will bring, and it will be more of an embarrassment

RR should walk the talk now; the way certain players were sidelined by Misbah, those players need to come back..And get rid of these TTFs like Asif Ali, etc.

Babar should resign from captaincy with immediate effect (he has been captaining for 2 years with little success)

Sharjeel
Fakhar
Babar
Sarfaraz (c)
Rizwan
Haris Sohail
Imad
Shadab
Amir
Hasan Ali
Usman Qadir/Shaheen

 

[Napa]

England might pull out

I doubt NZ pulled out without first speaking with England behind the scenes, and maybe Australia too. The 3 English speaking nations are joined at the hip.