The Citizen (KZN)

Show must go on, says Finn

- London

– England have no safety concerns in the wake of Saturday’s terrorist attack that killed seven people in London and the Champions Trophy cricket tournament must go on, bowler Steve Finn (above) has said.

In the third major assault to hit Britain in less than three months, jihadis rammed a van into pedestrian­s on London Bridge before stabbing revellers in nearby bars.

All team hotels subsequent­ly went into lockdown and the Internatio­nal Cricket Council (ICC) issued a statement on Sunday saying it would review security in line with threat levels.

“It is a sorry state of affairs but we will keep playing cricket and be defiant in the face of it and hopefully put a smile on people’s faces here,” said Finn, who replaced the injured Chris Woakes in the England squad on Sunday.

“We are fully supportive of the security plans that are in place. We have been briefed on how we are going to be protected.

“We are very comfortabl­e that there is a ring of steel around us so that everyone who is in the ground will be safe. As long as our minds are at ease, we will be alright to play cricket,” the 28-yearold added.

Cricket Australia said they were also “comfortabl­e” with the security for the event featuring the top eight teams in the one-day internatio­nal rankings.

“We toured Bangladesh last year under very tight security and were looked after very well. This tournament will be no different,” Finn said.

Some of his team-mates were staying in a hotel less than 800 metres from the attack site, while all-rounder Ben Stokes was dining in Leicester Square.

Finn can expect to be selected for today’s match against New Zealand with England looking to record a second straight victory in the tournament. –

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