West Indies cricket legend Michael Holding has come out strongly against England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for backing out of the white-ball tour of Pakistan, saying that the board is filled with "western arrogance". Holding also added that ECB would not have pulled out of a series against "rich and powerful" India.
Holding's remarks have come just a few weeks after ECB decided to abandon the tour of Pakistan at the last minute, citing security concerns. Just a few days before ECB's announcement, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had also pulled out of the Pakistan series.
But Holding slammed ECB for not clearly explaining their concerns, and sympathised with Pakistan, who would have hosted England for the first time since 2005, had the series went on.
"The ECB statement doesn't wash with me. No substance," Holding was quoted as saying by BBC Sport after receiving the Cricket Writers' Club Peter Smith Award on Tuesday.
"Nobody wants to come forward and face up to anything because they know what they did was wrong. So they put out a statement and hid behind a statement. It just reminds me of the rubbish they did with Black Lives Matter," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"Nobody wants to come forward and face up to anything because they know what they did was wrong. So they put out a statement and hid behind a statement. It just reminds me of the rubbish they did with Black Lives Matter," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"I won't go back into that because I've said enough about that. But what that signal sends to me, is the same Western arrogance. I will treat you how I feel like treating you, it doesn't matter what you think, I'll just do what I want," Holding further said.
The former Windies bowler also added that Pakistan stayed in England for six-seven weeks at a time when there were no vaccines available for Covid-19.
"Pakistan went to England before vaccines were available for six or seven weeks," Holding said.
“They stayed, they played their cricket, they honoured what England wanted them to honour, to save England's butt, to put it mildly. Four days in Pakistan? I'm absolutely sure they would not have done that to India, because India is rich and powerful,” he signed off.