England players’ body says it wasn’t part of Pak tour decision

LONDON: Team England Player Partnership chief Richard Bevan has said neither they nor any individual player was involved in the decision to abandon the tour to Pakistan.

There had been reports that the Team England Player Partnership (TEPP), the body which represents England’s international players, said to the ECB that the players would be unwilling to travel to the country following a security alert which had seen New Zealand abandon their own tour.

“At no stage did TEPP inform the ECB that the players would not be touring,” Bevan told ESPNcricinfo. “At no stage has the ECB ever asked TEPP or the teams, men and women, whether the tour should go ahead or whether players were prepared to tour Pakistan. “It is 100 percent incorrect to suggest TEPP intervened to say the players would not tour.”

The debate over who was responsible for the decision perhaps reflects the fury with which it has been received, in Pakistan in particular.

The ECB accept that the travel advice, both from the Foreign Office, the British High Commission in Pakistan and their own security advisors had not changed despite New Zealand’s withdrawal. All felt that the tour remained viable if the advised security protocols were observed.

While the ECB statement did make reference to security issues, it was in the context of adding stress to a squad who were already concerned by prolonged periods in Covid-19 bubbles, exposure to the virus and a long time away from home. It was, therefore, a combination of reasons which led to them abandoning the tour. Crucially, they remain adamant they would have struggled to field a team.