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| October 22, 2001 | Monday | Shaba'an 4, 1422 |
Englishmen to discuss security
LONDON, Oct 21: England’s Test cricketers will hold informal discussions Monday evening to discuss their security concerns over next month’s tour of India.
All-rounder Craig White has already expressed his opposition to the tour because of India’s proximity to Afghanistan and captain Nasser Hussain has said he will not force players to travel.
The British Foreign Office has advised British nationals to keep a low profile in India after the US-led bombings of Afghanistan, following the Sept 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Batsman Michael Vaughan told Radio Five Live Sunday the team would meet Monday night before a Foreign Office briefing at Lord’s Tuesday. The British High Commissioner in New Delhi, Rob Young, will also attend Tuesday’s meeting.
“I’m obviously a bit concerned about travelling at this stage,” Vaughan said. “We meet on Monday night and there will be a bit of discussion.”
Former England all-rounder Ian Botham, also speaking on Radio Five Live, said he believed the tour should be cancelled.
He said: “I personally think it’s impossible to go ahead with it. There’s too much going on in the world at the moment and India is to close to the centre of those problems.
“A stadium with 60,000 people and the England cricket team is an obvious target.”
Vaughan’s Yorkshire team mate White echoed those thoughts on BBC Online, insisting that travelling to India was too big a risk.
“The situation is that if there’s going to be retaliation, there’s no way they can guarantee our safety, so why risk it?,” White said.
“Maybe if I was 23 without a family...but I have got a wife and two kids and they don’t want me to go.”
Hussain, who was born in Chennai, said he had still to decide whether or not to tour.
“It’s not just players who are going, there’s physios, everyone’s going to have to make the decision with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board),” he said.
Hussain referred to the six players with English premier league club Chelsea who refused to travel to Israel this week.
“That’s a personal safety decision everyone’s going to have to take,” he said.
Last week the International Cricket Council (ICC) acknowledged the uncertainty facing international cricket when it approved the use of neutral venues for countries unable to stage home series.
New Zealand and Sri Lanka have cancelled tours of Pakistan, and West Indies have delayed a decision on their tour early next year.
The ICC have also set a minimum penalty of $2 million for countries who refuse to carry out their tour obligations, a decision which will concentrate the minds of ECB officials.
ECB officials will also have to consider the possibility of India cancelling a four-Test tour of England next year in retaliation if they decide not to visit the sub-continent.—Reuters
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