Eoin Morgan said yesterday he had a “big concern” regarding safety and security on England’s tour of Bangladesh later this year.
England’s limited-overs captain also said it was possible that the England and Wales Cricket Board could ask for the matches to be moved to a neutral venue.
A terror attack in a restaurant in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on Friday left 18 foreigners dead. England are scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on September 30 to play two Tests and three one-day internationals. Morgan said England players would wait for the latest security information from the ECB before making decisions about their safety.
“I think that could be feasible if that came to it,” said Morgan, when asked at a press conference in Southampton, ahead of yesterday’s lone Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka.
“I think it (security) is quite a big concern at the moment,” added Morgan. “We’ve always left the big decisions to the ECB. They write reports, send guys out to see if it’s safe then come back to the players to see if they’re happy or unhappy.”
The former Ireland batsman added: “But certainly it’s a concern at the moment.”
Responding to the terror attacks, an ECB spokesman hinted at a possible cancellation of the Bangladesh tour by saying that “if the environment is not acceptably safe or the right measures not in place, we would take the appropriate steps”.
Australia have previously cancelled both a tour of Bangladesh and withdrawn their Under-19 team out of the junior World Cup there on security grounds.
Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan said he understood English concerns but added he hoped that the situation would improve before the scheduled start of the tour.
“The reaction that England gave was very normal,” Hassan said after his return over the weekend from the International Cricket Council’s annual conference in Edinburgh.
“We would have done the same... you would probably notice that sports did not stop even after the terror attack in Paris. Sporting activities went ahead at their own pace. We have still three months left before the England series.
“I don’t think the current situation will persist that long in Bangladesh. It’s tough to say which place is safe. Even England may not be a safe place after three months.”
Hassan said the authorities would “strengthen security measures” during the tour. “If we can ensure the highest security, sports will not stop in any country,”
he added.
Security concerns have been a major issue in South Asia, starving Pakistan of international sports at home.
Eoin Morgan
