‘England won’t force players to tour Bangladesh’

LONDON: England will not force any player to tour Bangladesh, limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan said, in the wake of the July 1 attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22

LONDON: England will not force any player to tour Bangladesh, limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan said, in the wake of the July 1 attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people were killed.

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England’s one-day squad will receive a briefing on Thursday from a three-member panel which toured Bangladesh to assess security for the series, comprising three one-dayers and two tests there in October.

“I don’t think anybody will ever be forced to go on a particular tour,” Morgan told BBC Radio 5 live.

“I think it’s important for us to get together as a group, and be informed by people who we trust in order to make the right decisions and go from there.”

Australia pulled out of their tour of Bangladesh last year over security concerns and did not compete in the under-19 World Cup in the south Asian country for the same reason.

England’s one-day team is scheduled to leave for Bangladesh on September 30 and Morgan had full faith in the wisdom of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). “I’m pretty open-minded,” Morgan said. “You can’t really rule out anything until you hear from the people that you trust. “The ECB have made decisions over the years that have held us in good stead – we’ve never been in any danger before.”

SOUTHAMPTON: Azhar Ali hit 82 and Sarfraz Ahmed weighed in with 55 as Pakistan made 260/6 against England in their first one-day international in Southampton on Wednesday.

The tourists were going along well on 218/4 at the Rose Bowl before losing momentum when rain halted play after 42.1 overs.

Azhar struck nine fours in his 110-ball knock as the opener made his first half-century in over a year. Sarfraz’s salvo came off 58 runs with three fours.

England’s death bowling was tight, with Pakistan limited to 42 runs in 7.9 overs after the rain break. Legspinner Adil Rashid had the best figures, with 2-51.

The five-match series follows a test series that was drawn 2-2.

BRIEF SCORES

Pakistan 260/6 (Azhar Ali 82, Babar Azam 40, Sarfraz Ahmed 55) v England.