Aman
Test Captain
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2013
- Runs
- 47,061
"Pakistan authorities were brilliant, they kept us safe, we'd like to thank them": Tom Latham
Black Caps captain Tom Latham said the team were in “good spirits” as most of them began to make their way home from Dubai following the abandonment of their tour of Pakistan in the wake of a credible, direct security threat on Friday.
In an interview supplied by New Zealand Cricket, Latham said the team were in “good spirits” as 24 players and staff – not including those staying on for the Twenty20 World Cup – prepared to board their flight to New Zealand.
“Some guys are staying here, some guys are heading home, but it will be nice to get home and see all the families.
“For them it’s been a little bit stressful as well, in terms of finding out the news, but once we got here I think they were pretty relieved.
Latham said it had been “a hectic 24 hours” for the Black Caps following the decision by NZ Cricket to abandon the tour after a threat was made to the team.
“The guys dealt with it all slightly differently, but we stayed tight as a group over there and just spent time together, just bouncing off each other, in the 24 hours we had still in Islamabad.
“For us to be here and to be safe, the guys were certainly very pleased to get here.”
Latham said the team found out they would be leaving Pakistan at lunchtime on Friday, the day of the first of three one-day internationals. They then spent 24 hours locked down in their hotel in Islamabad before leaving for Dubai, where they arrived on Sunday morning NZ time.
“Everyone was sort of wondering what was up, and then we got told the news that we would be heading home.
“It was an interesting 24 hours post that decision, but obviously New Zealand Cricket, the players' association, [and] everyone on the ground in Pakistan obviously had our players’ safety first and foremost.
“For them to act so swiftly and to get us out here to Dubai was outstanding. I know the guys were very thankful for that.”
Latham said the abandonment of the tour would “naturally” be “very disappointing” for those in Pakistan, who haven’t had many proper home matches in recent years, following the terror attack on the touring Sri Lankan team in 2009.
The Black Caps were following in the footsteps of Bangladesh, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe, who have all returned since 2015, but it remains to be seen if and when they will return.
No New Zealand side had visited Pakistan since 2003 until this month. On the Black Caps’ previous trip, in 2003, the tour was abandoned after a bomb exploded outside the team hotel.
“To have cricket back in their country was something that they were very proud of,” Latham said.
“I remember doing the captain’s run with Babar [Azam, the Pakistan captain] the day before and seeing how happy he was to have international cricket and to have us there.
“He was very excited, and it was a historic moment as well for New Zealand Cricket to be back there, 18 years since they were last there.
“To be part of that was going to be something special, but obviously things changed, and New Zealand Cricket acted pretty swiftly along with the people on the ground in Pakistan.
“While we were there after the decision the Pakistan authorities were brilliant, they kept us safe, we were safe at the hotel, and we certainly thank them.”
A total of 24 players and staff were on their way back to New Zealand, where they will be accommodated in the managed isolation system on an emergency basis, with their bookings for later in the year cancelled.
Five players – Todd Astle, Mark Chapman, Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, and Ish Sodhi – are set to remain in the United Arab Emirates, where they will be part of the T20 World Cup, which starts in mid-October.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/crick...-from-dubai-after-security-threat-in-pakistan
Black Caps captain Tom Latham said the team were in “good spirits” as most of them began to make their way home from Dubai following the abandonment of their tour of Pakistan in the wake of a credible, direct security threat on Friday.
In an interview supplied by New Zealand Cricket, Latham said the team were in “good spirits” as 24 players and staff – not including those staying on for the Twenty20 World Cup – prepared to board their flight to New Zealand.
“Some guys are staying here, some guys are heading home, but it will be nice to get home and see all the families.
“For them it’s been a little bit stressful as well, in terms of finding out the news, but once we got here I think they were pretty relieved.
Latham said it had been “a hectic 24 hours” for the Black Caps following the decision by NZ Cricket to abandon the tour after a threat was made to the team.
“The guys dealt with it all slightly differently, but we stayed tight as a group over there and just spent time together, just bouncing off each other, in the 24 hours we had still in Islamabad.
“For us to be here and to be safe, the guys were certainly very pleased to get here.”
Latham said the team found out they would be leaving Pakistan at lunchtime on Friday, the day of the first of three one-day internationals. They then spent 24 hours locked down in their hotel in Islamabad before leaving for Dubai, where they arrived on Sunday morning NZ time.
“Everyone was sort of wondering what was up, and then we got told the news that we would be heading home.
“It was an interesting 24 hours post that decision, but obviously New Zealand Cricket, the players' association, [and] everyone on the ground in Pakistan obviously had our players’ safety first and foremost.
“For them to act so swiftly and to get us out here to Dubai was outstanding. I know the guys were very thankful for that.”
Latham said the abandonment of the tour would “naturally” be “very disappointing” for those in Pakistan, who haven’t had many proper home matches in recent years, following the terror attack on the touring Sri Lankan team in 2009.
The Black Caps were following in the footsteps of Bangladesh, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe, who have all returned since 2015, but it remains to be seen if and when they will return.
No New Zealand side had visited Pakistan since 2003 until this month. On the Black Caps’ previous trip, in 2003, the tour was abandoned after a bomb exploded outside the team hotel.
“To have cricket back in their country was something that they were very proud of,” Latham said.
“I remember doing the captain’s run with Babar [Azam, the Pakistan captain] the day before and seeing how happy he was to have international cricket and to have us there.
“He was very excited, and it was a historic moment as well for New Zealand Cricket to be back there, 18 years since they were last there.
“To be part of that was going to be something special, but obviously things changed, and New Zealand Cricket acted pretty swiftly along with the people on the ground in Pakistan.
“While we were there after the decision the Pakistan authorities were brilliant, they kept us safe, we were safe at the hotel, and we certainly thank them.”
A total of 24 players and staff were on their way back to New Zealand, where they will be accommodated in the managed isolation system on an emergency basis, with their bookings for later in the year cancelled.
Five players – Todd Astle, Mark Chapman, Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, and Ish Sodhi – are set to remain in the United Arab Emirates, where they will be part of the T20 World Cup, which starts in mid-October.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/crick...-from-dubai-after-security-threat-in-pakistan
This is common for Indians and Pakistanis, but this must be new for the Kiwis lol.
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