England, South Africa reassured over ODI security after Manchester attack
Eoin Morgan says England “have a lot of trust” in the security measures in place for their three-match ODI series against South Africa, beginning Wednesday. Many people were killed and injured in an explosion that took place at the end of a concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday night.
England and South Africa have received reassurances over security measures for their one-day international series, which starts at Headingley on Wednesday, following Monday’s bombing in Manchester.
Twenty-two people were killed, including children, and 59 injured in an explosion that took place at the end of a concert at the Manchester Arena.
(Read | Manchester terror attack: Footballers, clubs come out in support of victims)
The incident is being treated by police as a terror attack, with Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins subsequently confirming that the suspect died at the scene after allegedly detonating an “improvised explosive device”.
Eoin Morgan and AB de Villiers each commented on the incident on Tuesday, ahead of the first ODI between England and the Proteas, with the home skipper confirming his team had spoken to their highly respected director of security Reg Dickason.
(Read | Manchester attack: ICC to look into security for Champions Trophy 2017)
“We have a lot of trust in our security. We’re very close to Reg Dickason and we’ve spoken to him this morning,” Morgan told the BBC’s Test Match Special.
“Obviously with the security surrounding the ground, we don’t speak about it in public, but he’s reassured us that everything is OK.”
South Africa captain De Villiers added: “It is really sad and it’s something we spoke about at length at breakfast this morning, so it is definitely in the back of our minds. But it’s important for us to focus on our job at hand.”
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Mohammed Moosajee, the Proteas’ team manager said: “Make no mistake, our hearts and minds are with the people of Manchester. What happened is totally despicable and abhorrent.
“At the same time, some of the players are feeling uneasy. There is genuine concern there, as you can understand.
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“But I’m happy to say we’ve had constant communication with the ECB’s security department. We’ve been promised - and there are some guarantees in place - that there will be more visible policing.
“There will be measures put into place to beef up the security for the events, for the hotels, as well as practices. So we’ve just got to trust the processes and try and get the guys to concentrate on the cricket.”
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