Last week, Pakistan copped another major setback as England men’s and women’s teams decided against touring the county for the next month’s white-ball series.
ECB’s decision to pull out of the tour came just three days after New Zealand abandoned the limited-overs series in Pakistan moments before the first ODI.
While the Kiwis had cancelled the tour due to security concerns, England cited the mental wellbeing of their players as the reason behind the decision.
Amid the development, former England skipper Michael Atherton has hit out at the ECB for maintaining a stoic silence following their decision to cancel the tour.
“The ECB’s silence is deafening. The board assumes it can put out a feeble, mealy-mouthed statement and hide behind it for good, saying nothing more. Pakistan’s cricketers, who spent two months in a biosecure bubble here last summer to help save the game from financial catastrophe, their administrators, who have done so much to get cricket back to that country, and supporters deserve better. The game in this country deserves better," Atherton wrote in his column for The Times on Saturday (September 25).
Atherton further said that the PCB was being given conflicting signals by the ECB on why the tour had been cancelled.
“The chairman of the PCB, Ramiz Raja, revealed this week that his opposite number, Ian Watmore, implied the decision was out of his, Watmore’s, hands. When Wasim Khan, the chief executive of the PCB, was rung by the ECB’s chief operating officer, David Mahoney, to call the tour off, Mahoney gave no specifics. When Wasim was called by the chief executive of the ECB, Tom Harrison, two days later, he was told the ECB could not get a team on the plane," he stated.
In a statement, the ECB had said, “The mental and physical well-being of our players and support staff remains our highest priority and this is even more critical given the times we are currently living in. We know there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region and believe that going ahead will add further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments. There is the added complexity for our Men’s T20 squad. We believe that touring under these conditions will not be ideal preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where performing well remains a top priority for 2021."
Atherton added that with no one in the ECB coming forward to explain what exactly happened and why the tour was called off.
“In the absence of anyone from the ECB fronting up, Heather Knight, the captain of the England women’s team, was left to answer questions on the issue this week. The only England men’s player to have spoken has been Jos Buttler, who expressed some sympathy for Pakistan."
Atherton said the “ECB wants the story to disappear but the only thing that has disappeared has been its chairman. Watmore has been silent for five days since the cancellation was announced - one day longer than the proposed tour to Pakistan was due to last."
