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England call off scheduled tour of Pakistan, PCB chief Ramiz Raja fumes in disappointment

England have refused to travel to Pakistan for their upcoming series against the hosts, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement. Calling players’ safety their “highest priority”, the ECB said that touring under current circumstances is not a good idea as “there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region”.

Notably, England had planned to send the Women side as well to play beside the Men's but neither of the sides will travel to Pakistan.

"The mental and physical well-being of our players and support staff remains our highest priority and this is even more critical given the times we are currently living in. We know there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region and believe that going ahead will add further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments,” ECB said.

The ECB said that it has a “longstanding commitment” to tour Pakistan next year but the series scheduled in the recent future would not take place as it won’t be an “ideal preparation” for the upcoming T20 World Cup scheduled to take place next month in UAE.

"There is the added complexity for our Men's T20 squad. We believe that touring under these conditions will not be ideal preparation for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where performing well remains a top priority for 2021,” ECB explained.

The ECB has also extended an apology to the PCB for the “impact” that their withdrawal will have on their finances and the overall state of the game in the country. They acknowledged the help Pakistan provided over the last two summers in bringing the game back on track in a post-pandemic world.

England's refusal to travel was widely expected after New Zealand pulled out of their tour of Pakistan right before the scheduled start of the first ODI between the sides. Both England and New Zealand employ the same security consultants for on-ground assessment and as soon as the Blackcaps made a choice of travelling back to their country, scheduled England's tour of Pakistan was under the clouds of uncertainty.

Meanwhile, in a similar but a bit softer tone to how he responded in wake of New Zealand’s withdrawal, the newly-elected PCB chairman Ramiz Raja expressed his disappointment with England’s decision. 

He said that England’s decision failed a member of the fraternity when they needed their help the most. However, he expressed a bullish attitude on Pakistan’s survival and urged the Pakistan players to become the best team in the world so that other teams “line up to play them without making excuses”.

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Williamson hopes for no 'lasting impact' on Pakistan cricket after New Zealand's abandoned tour

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has extended his best wishes to Pakistan cricket in the aftermath of his team’s withdrawal from the country without playing a single game of a full-fledged scheduled tour. Williamson reiterated that players’ safety is “paramount” and they should not be blamed for the “sudden call” of withdrawal from the series as that decision was taken by the government. He confirmed that players were ready to go to the ground before the message came from the New Zealand government. "It was a sudden call, but obviously a real shame. Cricket in Pakistan is an amazing thing and so well supported. There is so much passion there and I think the guys will be gutted to not have started and played the whole series,” Williamson said to Sportstar. “You want to be playing the game in all countries. It is an international game and there is so much passion for it around the world, particularly in Pakistan. It was really exciting to see the series go back there and I know our team was looking forward to it. Players’ safety is paramount and when you hear messages going through from the government, it is certainly above the players’ heads.” Williamson also expressed hope that their pull out from the series will not have a “lasting impact” on the game in Pakistan as it has been a “special place” for the game of cricket. “They were obviously over there, ready to go to the ground. It is a sudden thing that happened. I certainly hope there is no lasting impact from it because it is a special place for cricket to be and there have been a lot of strides forward to see cricket go back into Pakistan and play there safely. We have seen that happen on a number of occasions, so hopefully, there is plenty more cricket there to come,” he concluded. Williamson was not travelling with the New Zealand side and he is with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing edition of the IPL in UAE. Meanwhile, the CEO of the New Zealand Cricket, David White confirmed a “specific credible” threat against the Blackcaps which forced them with no other options but to abandon the tour. He said that the board received risk assessments from both their security agency and independent sources before asking the players to come back. However, he commended the Pakistan Cricket Board for professional behaviour in tough times and promised to find a way to tour the country again next year. He expressed hope of finding a “window” to make up for the abandoned series next year when they are scheduled to tour for a full series including two Test matches. “It’s really disappointing for Pakistan cricket, but we had no option but to leave the tour, unfortunately. I was at home and we got a call from a government agency on Friday afternoon informing us of a specific credible threat against the team. I contacted our security person in Pakistan, which was at 3 am in the morning, and we just worked through it with him on the ground and other independent sources as well,” White said on Mornings with Ian Smith show on SEN Radio. “I’m sure we’ll find a window. We are scheduled to play them next year in January and February, two Test matches as part of the World Test Championships and some ODIs, so maybe we can wrap the games around those series.” New Zealand’s decision of leaving the series and Pakistan has not gone down well with the PCB and the newly-appointed chairman Ramiz Raja has threatened to “see” them at the ICC.

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AUS W vs IND W | 1st ODI: India Women begin search for stable XI before World Cup

The Indian Women’s team is in Australia and after a less than satisfactory performance in England in the three-match ODI series in June-July early this year, they would be hoping for certain changes. Although the team lost the warm-up game against the Aussies only a few days ago with skipper Mithali Raj and opening sensations Smiriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma failing, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia and Deepti Sharma gave an account of themselves with the bat. Poonam Yadav was as always brilliant with the ball, even as other spinners in Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Ekta Bisht were taken to the cleaners. The Australian team on the other hand looked extremely settled, both with the bat and ball. Although they were playing cricket after quite a long time, it didn’t really reflect in their performances with batters Rachael Hynes and Beth Monney getting fifties alongside skipper Meg Lanning. Bowling wise too, they were right on the money with Ellyse Perry and 19-year-old uncapped Stela Cambleel wrestling havoc on the Indian batting lineup. Apart from inconsistent form, another major roadblock for Team India is the absence of vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur who is out with an injury. However, pacer Shikha Pandey, who too didn’t appear in the Warm-up game, is fit for selection for the first match. Australia Women vs India Women: Details Match Number- 01st ODI Date and Time: September 21, 2021, 05:35 am IST, 10:05 am Local, 12:05 am GMT Venue: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay Broadcast and Live Stream in India: Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV Pitch Report As far as the first images from the centre are concerned, the pitch at Mackay is going to be fast and bouncy and with a strip of light grass left on it, it would surely be a hard time for the team batting first. Weather Forecast and Toss According to the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, the weather at Mackay will remain mostly Sunny on Tuesday, September 21. Some Light winds blowing from west to northwesterly at around 15 to 20 km/h will accompany the sun in the morning. In the afternoon, the air stream will shift southerly 15 to 25 km/h, thereby assisting the bowlers with the swing. A skipper winning the toss should undoubtedly choose to bowl first. Probable XI Australia Women Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy (wk), Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Redmayne, Darcie Brown, Stella Campbell India Women Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Mithali Raj (c), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana/ Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Poonam Yadav Dream XI Team Wicketkeepers Alyssa Healy Batters Rachael Haynes, Meg Lanning, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia All-rounders Deepti Sharma, Ellyse Perry Bowlers Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Yadav, Stella Campbell Vice-Captain Deepti Sharma Captain Ellyse Perry Chasing Record If Australia Women win this game, they would become the first team male or female to win straight 25ODIs on the trot.