The ECB canceled tours of Pakistan on Monday, highlighting the “physical and mental well-being” of its players as a reason; Ebony Rainford-Brent: “It is a cry from a team that has more power than another team and has made a decision without thinking about the impact it will have on them”
The ECB’s decision to suspend England’s tour of Pakistan shows that it has “very little memory”, according to former captain Charlotte Edwards.
A statement from the Cricket Board of England and Wales confirmed the cancellation of the joint men’s and women’s tour on Monday, just days after the New Zealand men left their own tour of the country citing a “specific and specific security threat.” credible”.
The ECB statement highlighted the “physical and mental well-being” of its players as the reason for its decision, rather than as a similar threat.
Talking to Sky Sports Cricket Ahead of the third ODI between England and New Zealand Women’s on Tuesday, Edwards and his former England teammate Ebony Rainford-Brent contrasted the actions of the ECB with those of Pakistan, whose men’s team played three Tests and three T20 Internationals in England in 2020 in the height of the Covid pandemic.
“The key thing that stands out is that the statement has nothing to do with security issues or concerns,” Rainford-Brent said. “That’s due to player fatigue and maybe player power that is happening in the background. It seems that players don’t want to go for various reasons.
“I appreciate that we are in the middle of a pandemic, but in the big picture scheme of cricket that’s not really in the spirit of cricket.
“Think about what Pakistan did for us: England. In the midst of a pandemic, they went from a low-risk area to a higher-risk area, they had to quarantine themselves without a vaccination program because we were concerned about transmission problems.”
“Now I guess we turned around what they need to keep the soul of Pakistani cricket and international cricket at home, and I think we could have returned the favor.”
Edwards added: “If it were about security, I wouldn’t have a problem and we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation right now, we’d probably be going ‘fair enough.’
“But the fact that it’s workloads again … they knew five months ago that the tours were going backwards, they knew what their schedule was for the next few years …
“I am so disappointed by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board). They did a lot to get cricket to be played in this country last summer, and I think we seem to have very little memory.”
The ECB statement also made clear that concerns about the well-being of England’s T20 men’s team ahead of next month’s World Cup was a key factor in their decision, but no mention was made of the impact the cancellation could have on the long term of women. preparations for next year’s 50+ tournament.
Edwards said: “This was a historic tour for the women of England, to go to Pakistan. We’ve never been there before, and when you read there, it’s not a great preparation for the men’s team, well, it’s a great preparation for the women’s team. “. to go to the World Cup next February! “
Rainford-Brent questioned whether a backup squad could have been found to protect the health of older men, as happened in the early summer when Covid troubles led to a largely second-row team taking on and defeating Pakistan. in a match. ODI series.
She said: “If it’s a workload issue, we just watched England, the ‘B’ version of the team when there was a Covid issue, play Pakistan and beat them comfortably.
“The women’s team now has a regional structure that has national contracts throughout the year, so if there was a problem with the workload, I guarantee that there are players who would rip your arm off to be on that tour.
“The other thing about security too: it seems that Pakistan was prepared to negotiate, behind closed doors, all those kinds of issues.
“For me, it is just a cry from a team that has more power than another team and has made a decision without thinking about the impact it is going to have on them.”
