Cricket Australia assure fans over security for Boxing Day Test
Friday 23 December 2016 08:56, UK
Cricket Australia has assured fans that security will be tight for the traditional Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Australia will begin Monday's second Test against Pakistan with a one-nil lead in the three-match series, which follows a foiled terror plot targeting prominent sites in Melbourne.
Counter-terrorism police and Australia's domestic spy agency in Victoria recently conducted overnight raids on homes in the suburbs of Melbourne where they arrested six men and a woman.
With obvious concerns over the historic fixture, which starts on December 26, Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland said: "Our security team is in contact with the relevant authorities to ensure we have the appropriate level of security at the Boxing Day Test and other cricket matches being held around the country.
"The safety and security of our fans, players and officials attending any cricket match is our number one priority.
"We applaud Victoria Police for their efforts this morning in neutralising the threat and we will continue to work with the relevant authorities to ensure the highest security standards and protocols are maintained."
He said: "This is one of the most substantial terrorist plots that have been disrupted over the last several years.
"They have been thwarted. They are in custody. They are no longer a threat to Australians' security.
"What these criminals seek to do is to kill, but they also seek to frighten us, to cower us into abandoning our Australian way of life, they want to frighten and divide Australians."
