What does Peter Oborne say about England’s withdrawal?
Famous English journalist and the author of the book “Wounded Tiger: The History of Cricket in Pakistan” has a lot to say to the England and Wales Cricket Board famously known as ECB. Peter Oborne during his interview to Sky News has been very vocal in criticising the ECB for being influenced by IPL for canceling the Pakistan tour.
While speaking to Sky News. he emphasised that the security was not even an issue. He said: “Look, the English cricket security assessment, we learned, was unchanged. It was judged to be safe.”
“The British High Commission, we learned, was happy with this. Of course, some events have been going on in Afghanistan but the security advice was that it was okay to travel,” the journalist remarked.
Latest Development: ‘Fake threat originated from India caused New Zealand to cancel the tour’
“This is a decision taken by the English cricket board and by the way why haven’t we heard from Ian Whatmore, chairman of the English cricket board. Why hasn’t he come out and justified that decision? Can you ask the ‘invisible’ Ian to come on Sky TV and justify his decision because it stinks!”, he stated all this during his interview with Kay Burley on Sky News.
He further criticised the English Cricket Board for being under the influence of the Indian Premier League (IPL). “They [ECB] are pusillanimous, they are afraid of the players, they are affected by the Indians and in particular the IPL [….] they are prepared to kick one of our closest allies, who we owe an enormous debt of gratitude and honour, in the teeth.”
“Well it’s not just a blow to Pakistan cricket; it’s a blow to world cricket. Pakistan is one of the brilliant and wonderful teams in the world,” he further stated.
Read more: ECB cancelled tour over players’ concerns, not security: Christian Turner
This was all lashed out towards the ECB after they pulled out of the tour of Pakistan following the New Zealand Cricket Board decision which was supposed to be a big tour for the Pakistan Cricket Team and fans. And that too, just before T20 World Cup. Many former and current players have vowed in support of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in spite of the tour being canceled at the very last moment.
