SA women team puts off tour on security grounds

The South African women cricket team’s tour of Bangladesh this month has been postponed due to security concerns. The team were supposed to arrive in Dhaka on October 15 to play five ODIs and three T-20s.
The development comes just four days after the Australian men’s team suspended its Test series.
The consecutive postponements of international series have set alarm bells ringing for the future prospect of cricket in the country, but the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) remains unfazed.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon said the tour was postponed by the “mutual consent” of the two boards after Cricket South Africa raised concern over security in Bangladesh and asked for a security plan.
Papon admitted that the BCB normally doesn’t make any security plan for visiting women’s teams, and so he preferred to talk to the South Africans face-to-face to know what kind of plan they wanted.
The BCB chief said a decision on the series would be taken after a discussion on the sidelines of the ICC meeting in Dubai next week.
“They asked for a security report, but we thought it would be better to talk face-to-face in Dubai during the ICC meeting. I think the terror alerts would be taken off in the next five to seven days. We also need to know what type of security plan they have in mind. Since both these teams are mostly free, it won’t be a major problem to delay this series by a few days,” he said.
“If the Australian team doesn’t have a busy schedule, I believe we can make the tour of Australia as early as possible. But the case of the South African women’s team is different. They are totally free and they can come on a tour any time. So I am not worried at all. Moreover, our team is playing in Pakistan and they need rest for some days. So it is safe to delay the tour,” Papon said.
“To make sure they (CSA) don’t have a negative view, we need to sit with them rather than exchange emails. The series has been postponed by mutual consent. They are not coming on October 15, and I think they will come a little later,” he said.
Papon iterated that Bangladesh is safe for cricket, as it was in the past, and the consecutive postponement of international series will not have any adverse impact on other tournaments and cricket series in Bangladesh in the coming days.
He said he will ask the ICC for a solution to the problem of teams not willing to visit a country where there are isolated threats. “We have to find a solution to play even when there are threats. I think Zimbabwe will come early for the Test series, but I don’t want to show the world or the people of Bangladesh that a team has visited. I want a permanent solution,” he added.
The BCB president further said: “There is no reason to think that Bangladesh is weak in the ICC. Like our performance on the field, we have also gained strength in the ICC. I share a good rapport with all the ICC members and board presidents of other countries, including India, Australia and England. At present, I head two of the most powerful committees of the ICC — Governance and HR & Admin, which were earlier headed by Australia and England. The two boards chose me to lead these two segments. So, I am sure that I will be able to make them understand our position.”

 

SA women team puts off tour on security grounds

The South African women cricket teams tour of Bangladesh this month has been postponed due to security concerns. The team were supposed to arrive in Dhaka on October 15 to play five ODIs and three T-20s. The development comes just four days after the Australian mens team suspended its Test series. The consecutive postponements of international series have set alarm bells ringing for the future prospect of cricket in the country, but the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) remains unfazed. BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon said the tour was postponed by the mutual consent of the two boards after Cricket South Africa raised concern over security in Bangladesh and asked for a security plan. Papon admitted that the BCB normally doesnt make any security plan for visiting womens teams, and so he preferred to talk to the South Africans face-to-face to know what kind of plan they wanted. The BCB chief said a decision on the series would be taken after a discussion on the sidelines of the ICC meeting in Dubai next week. They asked for a security report, but we thought it would be better to talk face-to-face in Dubai during the ICC meeting. I think the terror alerts would be taken off in the next five to seven days. We also need to know what type of security plan they have in mind. Since both these teams are mostly free, it wont be a major problem to delay this series by a few days, he said. If the Australian team doesnt have a busy schedule, I believe we can make the tour of Australia as early as possible. But the case of the South African womens team is different. They are totally free and they can come on a tour any time. So I am not worried at all. Moreover, our team is playing in Pakistan and they need rest for some days. So it is safe to delay the tour, Papon said. To make sure they (CSA) dont have a negative view, we need to sit with them rather than exchange emails. The series has been postponed by mutual consent. They are not coming on October 15, and I think they will come a little later, he said. Papon iterated that Bangladesh is safe for cricket, as it was in the past, and the consecutive postponement of international series will not have any adverse impact on other tournaments and cricket series in Bangladesh in the coming days. He said he will ask the ICC for a solution to the problem of teams not willing to visit a country where there are isolated threats. We have to find a solution to play even when there are threats. I think Zimbabwe will come early for the Test series, but I dont want to show the world or the people of Bangladesh that a team has visited. I want a permanent solution, he added. The BCB president further said: There is no reason to think that Bangladesh is weak in the ICC. Like our performance on the field, we have also gained strength in the ICC. I share a good rapport with all the ICC members and board presidents of other countries, including India, Australia and England. At present, I head two of the most powerful committees of the ICC Governance and HR Admin, which were earlier headed by Australia and England. The two boards chose me to lead these two segments. So, I am sure that I will be able to make them understand our position.