UK PM Boris Johnson 'angry' with ECB over cancellation of Pakistan tour

LAHORE (92 News) – UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his anger with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over cancellation of Pakistan tour, while ministers believe that the decision has 'damaged the relations between the two countries', said a report published b The Times.

“There were consultations between the ECB and officials from No 10, the Foreign Office and the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport before announcing the cancellation of the tour in which the governing body was urged to go ahead as planned,” it stated.

“The subsequent decision to ignore those pleas and cancel the tour on the grounds of the physical and mental wellbeing of the players has enraged ministers. They believe it has damaged the work being done to improve relations between the UK and Pakistan at a time when they are particularly important,” the report added.

The report also mentioned that PM Johnson is understood to be “angry over the ECB’s decision” to cancel the men’s and women’s white-ball tour to Pakistan next month, stating that the prime minister and senior ministers within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office believe that the decision has damaged relations between the UK and the Pakistan government.

It also hinted that ECB was keen on trying to find a way for the tour to go ahead but it was an intervention from the Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) — a unit within the players’ union that represents England’s centrally contracted players — that stopped the tour.

It also highlighted the fact that TEPP represents only contracted players which would have allowed the ECB to explore the idea of taking a team of county cricketers. “But it is understood this option was not explored,” the report said.

The report also mentioned that the ECB took the decision that the short tour to Pakistan “was not the battle it wanted to have with the players’ representatives.”

“In calling off the tour to Pakistan, the ECB can turn its attention to making sure that the Ashes takes place as planned,” the report said.