Australia postpones BD tour over ‘security concerns’

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said: “This has been a very hard decision”.

“It was a far greater challenge to host worldwide cricket and provide full-proof safety and security during that period for the Bangladesh Government and the BCB which was handled astutely and professionally”.

Nazmul Hassan has iterated that the board has left no stone unturned in making the most stringent security arrangements for the Australian team.

Australia’s test cricketers have been sent back to their home states to train while awaiting a decision on whether their tour of Bangladesh will proceed amid increasing security concerns.

Sutherland said he knew how disappointed the country would be and said he will work with theBangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) “to reschedule the tour as soon as possible”.

The statement added: “It is worth mentioning that during the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 (March-April 2014), when the risk which was assessed by Australia was of a higher level to what is at present, safety and security was successfully provided to 24 men’s and women’s teams including the Australian men’s and women’s squads as well as to officials and guests who arrived for the event”.

“After six days of extensive deliberations and research, we’ve come to the conclusion that we have no other alternative than to postpone our tour to Bangladesh”, Sutherland said.

Football Federation Australia is also keeping a close eye on the outcome of the cricket crisis, with the Socceroos scheduled to play Bangladesh in a World Cup qualifier in Dhaka on November 17 this year.

‘We have worked tirelessly to try to find a way for the tour to proceed but, in the end, it was simply not possible.

‘From the moment we raised our concerns with the BCB, they have been cooperative and most understanding of the situation.

“Cricket Australia and the BCB both exist to stage worldwide cricket”.

Top teams have refused to tour Pakistan since militants opened fire on a Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009, killing staff and injuring a number of players.

CA was approached by ASIO and DFAT last Friday September 25 with urgent advice that it had identified a potential security risk to Australian interests in Bangladesh.

The team was put on standby while CA sent a three-man security delegation to Dhaka to meet with the highest levels of Bangladeshi government and security organisations.

Cricket Australia (CA), after receiving a security update from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), has delayed the departure of the team to Bangladesh on Sunday.

“From the players’ point of view they fully support the decision that’s been made, however they were looking forward to facing off against a challenging Bangladesh side playing on their home turf”.

“The circumstances that led to the decision to cancel the tour are bigger than the game of cricket, and it’s important to view the issue in this context”, he said.