ECB officials inspect Bangladesh security ahead of England tour
Friday 19 August 2016 11:06, UK
England cricket officials inspected Bangladesh's main stadium on Thursday as part of a security probe to determine whether or not to go ahead with their tour of the country next month.
The officials, who included England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) security director Reg Dickason, will tour facilities in the capital Dhaka and the southern port city Chittagong over three days.
The England squad are awaiting the outcome of the probe before deciding whether to fly to Bangladesh on September 30 for three one-day internationals and two Test matches.
Concerns mounted over the safety of the squad following an attack by Islamist militants on a Dhaka cafe last month that left 22 people, mostly foreigners, dead.
"We are here for three days, seeing all the facilities, hotels and cricket grounds," ECB director of operations John Carr said.
"We are meeting with the security providers. We are grateful to the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) and government for their cooperation and assistance," said Carr, who inspected the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka and met the home minister.
"We have to go back and report to the ECB board before anything is made public."
England cricketers will be given the option of missing the Bangladesh leg of the tour that also includes India should the trip be given the green light, according to reports.
Bangladesh are desperate for the tour to go ahead and have promised England the highest level of security.
The country has been reeling from months of gruesome killings of religious minorities and secular activists, with many of the attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.
Australia cancelled their tour of Bangladesh last October for security reasons and then withdrew their side from the U19 World Cup in the country at the start of the year.
Meanwhile, the BCB has sacked assistant coach Ruwan Kalpage after he failed to report for duty.
Sri Lankan Kalpage, who had reportedly expressed concerns over his safety following the Dhaka attack last month, had been given a deadline to join the team's conditioning camp by August 16 ahead of the series against England.
"We set a deadline for him to join, but he did not respond. Therefore we decided to terminate his contract," said BCB chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury.
Two other Sri Lankans - head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and fitness trainer Mario Villavarayan - as well as Zimbabwean fielding coach Richard Halsall have already joined the camp, after the BCB provided them with armed security guards.
